


The Daydream Warrior

by Kirbifier



Series: The Elemental Love Live AU Collection [1]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Fantasy, Elemental Magic, F/F, The Kirbi AU, Yoshiko is awkward, aka the au you’ve probably seen me write before, i screw over chika basically, riko lives next door to yohane instead of chika, the school isnt gonna shut down, trust me when you see what powers i give them you’re gonna go wat, yoshiko builds herself a miniharem in the process
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-02-03 20:25:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12755589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirbifier/pseuds/Kirbifier
Summary: Tsushima Yoshiko was an Umbrae.And she hated every minute of it.An incident back in kindergarten caused her to dislike engaging in any kind of combat, but when a new girl moves in next door, her ideals change. The new girl is highly inept at magic, and Yoshiko is willing to take her under her wing, epecially if it means in a literal sense.Protecting her is going to be no easy task, as strange occurances begin to take place in Numazu, a normally peaceful small town.Yet, there’s a secret to be hidden underneath her and the group of girls that she gets suddenly pulled into. Yoshiko will have to work with them in order to save Numazu, and possibly find out what makes her so different.Set in an AU where the school is in no danger of shutting down.





	1. Blue Sky Jumping Heart

Tsushima Yoshiko was an Umbrae.

She hated every minute of it.

Okay, maybe hated was the wrong word to use, but most of the time she regretted it. She certainly hated it after what happened back in kindergarten.

But now was not the time nor place to dwell on old memories. Now was the time to go to school. On the first day of school, she half-assed her introduction and kept her mouth shut for the rest of the day. She wasn’t very good with people. Social skills were not her fortè. Plus, if Yoshiko talked, there was always a chance for... that part of her to slip out.

Inside of Yoshiko held a persona, of some kind. Nobody understood it fully, but she would often call herself Yohane. Yohane was, according to herself, a fallen angel with huge black wings. She was a fallen angel because she was struck down from the heavens for having devilishly good-looks. Yoshiko would even go so far as crossing out her own name and writing Yohane under it. Yoshiko knew that such a person never existed. But there was a part of her that had this persistent belief that she had really existed.

Yoshiko always blamed this random behavior as a side effect of being an Umbrae. Umbrae was the attribute for darkness. Quite literally, she knew black magic.

She sat on the bus, staring off into the distance while listening to a girl talk her head off about a group of elementalists.

“... I heard that all nine of them had different attributes, isn’t that cool?!”

_Blech._

The ocean-side town of Numazu was... exactly that. A small town on the shore of Shizuoka. Not many people lived here. Word around here would travel faster than wildfire. And since the town was small, so was her school.

Yoshiko was a first-year student at Uranohoshi Girl’s High School. It was not a big place. About seventy students were attending this year and Yoshiko made plans not to talk to any of them.

Or so she had hoped.

* * *

“Kunikida Hanamaru?”

Yoshiko jumped in her chair when she heard that name.

“Present, zura.”

The zura at the end could not be mistaken for anyone else. Yoshiko turned her head towards the voice.

_God dammit._

Sure enough, it was her. Hanamaru. Seeing her ten years later was surprising to say the least. The two of them had an... interesting relationship. They met in kindergarten and had become almost inseparable.

Yoshiko was so in shock she almost missed her name when she was called.

Hopefully Hanamaru was dense enough to not hear that. Hanamaru was pretty dense in kindergarten. But that was ten years ago, Yoshiko was pretty sure people could change in ten years.

And sure enough, she wasn’t that dense. The short girl walked right up to Yoshiko with a friend during lunch. She was holding a large book in one arm and her friend carried a silver staff.

“I thought it was you, Yoshiko-chan!”

Yoshiko whipped around, screaming. The students around them turned their heads.

“The hell are you doing here?!” Yoshiko whispered furiously.

“I go to school here!” she giggled.

Yoshiko scowled.

“Look, Zuramaru-“ that was her nickname for Hanamaru. She was known for saying zura at the end of her sentences, “first, it’s Yohane, and second, could you do me a favor and stay away from me please?”

Hanamaru tilted her head in confusion. “Why?”

The navy blue-haired girl slumped. “I don’t want reminders of what happened that day. You know what I’m talking about.”

“No, I d- Ohhhhh.”

Her friend had the most confused look on her face. “Do you know her, Maru-chan?”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you.”

Your airheaded-ness is still there I see.

“This is Kurosawa Ruby, my best friend! I met her in middle school, zura.”

Ruby waved shyly. “Hello...”

Her voice was soft. It was hard to see that she was a high schooler.

“She’s also a Pyrros!” Hanamaru added.

Pyrros was the fire attribute. Staring at the glowing red gem at the top of her magic staff kind of gave it away.

“You made friends with a mage?” Yoshiko asked. “Nice staff, by the way.”

“Th-thanks.”

Hanamaru nodded. “Do you remember my attribute, Yoshiko-chan?”

“It’s Yohane. And yes, it was Mentis.”

Mentis, the attribute of the mind. Known to be devastating in the right hands.

“I don’t remember you getting a tome, though, when was this?” Yoshiko asked.

“I got this sometime in middle school. Don’t remember exactly when I did, I just remember seeing it on my bed when I woke up, zura.”

“Lucky you two have Relics. I’m still stuck here with magic. Can I see those, by the way? I just want to study them.”

Ruby was reluctant, but Hanamaru handed over her tome with no resistance. “Still have that obsession with Relics, Yoshiko-chan?”

“It’s not an obsession! It’s just a hobby of mine to study them!”

Relics were the official name for weapons that people wielded. Many people had them, Yoshiko was one of them who didn’t. As a child, she was mesmerized by many of them, specifically the magical ones. Something about magic heavily pleased her, it was probably because she was a mage herself. Yet, she never begged and pleaded, much less asked, for a Relic to own. She just stuck with her black magic. Yet, she had heard bits and bobs of her mother’s gossip, and she very clearly heard her mother say something them being “too powerful” for her.

The tome that Hanamaru owned was very normal for a tome. It was a Mentis tome, which were their intended use. Tomes stemmed from the Mentis attribute, which then branched out to other elements. Hanamaru’s had a leather cover and the pages inside were written in characters most people couldn’t read. Only tome-users could read what was written. Casts were inscribed in ancient text, walking first-timers through spells and hexes. The book itself looked like it was made fairly recently which meant that the spells in the tome were most likely copied from other sources and printed into this one. Yet, here and there were tiny writings in pen, annotating tips, tricks, and even personal made-up spells, all written in Japanese.

Spells were simple to understand, yet hard to control. It could take a person days to fully cast a single spell. Once used enough, a user could cast spells through thoughts, giving Mentes an early advantage.

“Here,” Yohane said, returning the book. “Could I see your staff, Ruby?”

“If Maru-chan trusts you, I should too...” she mumbled.

_This kid’s cute. Maybe I’ll grow to like her._

_Maybe._

The staff Ruby had was unique. It was almost her height, which wasn’t rare for staves, but this one was made out of silver, and at the top of it was a sort of bowl-shape. In the bowl was a glowing red gem; a ruby. It emanated heat.

_Oh. Clever._

Specific stones and minerals had tie-ins with elements. The ruby almost looked like it glittered under the sunlight.

“Hey, Ruby? Why does your staff’s core sparkle?” Yoshiko asked.

Ruby took a small pouch out of her skirt pocket. “When my sister made this staff for me, she infused the ruby with these.”

She opened the pouch and poured out tiny diamonds onto her hand. They weren’t so much tiny as they were grain-sized.

Yoshiko frowned. “Where the hell did your sister get her hands on Diamond Dust?”

“My sister’s a Gaia. She makes this stuff normally.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s how it is.”

Gaia was the attribute of the earth. Though most people could control dirt, stone, sand, that sort of thing, there were people who could manipulate precious minerals and ores. People like that were commonly well-off when it came to finance.

Ruby put the dust back into the pouch and back into her pocket. “I keep this pouch around as a good luck charm. My sis gave it to me for my sixth birthday.”

“Good. Nice to see that she cares about you,” Yoshiko mused.

Returning her focus back to the staff, the ruby itself was encircled by two thin pieces of silver that swirled around and connected at the top.

Staves were very powerful in combat, especially when handed to a skilled fighter. Speaking of which, it didn’t look like this was used very often. Had this staff been in use for many years, the ruby would’ve looked a little more distorted than it did now.

“How long have you had this staff?”

“Uh, eheh, that’s funny how you mention it.”

“What’s funny?”

Ruby twiddled her fingers. “I just got that... a couple weeks ago.”

All the excitement in Yoshiko’s body crumbled away like a wet cookie.

“So what you’re saying is you have no idea how to use this thing.”

“I know how to use it! Just not very well.”

Yoshiko handed the staff back to Ruby. “Well, I hope your sister or someone teaches you how to use it, ‘cause I sure ain’t going to.”

“What? Why not?”

Yoshiko shrugged. “I just know about Relics, don’t know how to use them.”

She looked right at Hanamaru, and grabbed her head close to her own so nobody would hear what she would say.

“You haven’t told anyone about what happened back in kindergarten, have you?” she whispered.

Hanamaru shook her head. “I haven’t. I don’t know what to say about the other kids in our class, though, zura.”

Yoshiko dropped her head in disappointment, sighing. “Glad you at least kept our promise.”

Hanamaru hugged her. “Of course, zura!”

_I guess she’s still as soft as ever._

The bell rang, signifying the next class. Students started to trickle back into the classroom and Hanamaru and Ruby walked back to their seats.

Yoshiko didn’t really pay attention to class for the rest of the day. There really wasn’t anything to pay attention to. Mostly just teachers talking about getting ready for the year ahead of them.

* * *

Yoshiko stared at her palm. The marking of a star laid there. The star had been there for as long as she could remember. It lit up dimly whenever she used her magic. She made a fist, and a black fire engulfed her hand. This was the nature of her attribute. She flicked her finger upwards and a small ball of black energy hit the ceiling, which then shattered into black sparkles.

Yoshiko sat on her bed with nothing to do. Her laptop stood on her desk, beeping with notifications that she didn’t feel like answering.

There was a knock on her door. Yoshiko’s mother popped her head inside.

“Yoshiko? Do you want to meet our new neighbors?”

Yoshiko sat up. “New neighbors? When was this? And it’s Yohane!”

Her mother ignored the ending comment and responded, “They moved in last week. I heard that they have a daughter that’s your age.”

She had literally nothing else to do, so Yoshiko got up from her bed and put on some sweatpants, because she sure as hell wasn’t going to meet strangers in panties. Though she did admit to herself at times that she had a nice body and that black looked really nice on her.

She didn’t even bother to wear shoes; she just walked to the next apartment in her socks and knocked.

A girl opened the door. Her hair was a dark-red color and her eyes were golden yellow. A few strands of hair were clipped to the side of her face. She was wearing average day clothes.

“Hello... Can I help you?” she asked.

Yoshiko almost collapsed.

_Holy fuck she’s cute._

It took her a couple seconds to recompose herself. Almost instinctively, she responded in a deep voice.

“Hello, mortal. People call me many names, but I am Yohane. I am here to deliver a message to you as a sign of greeting. I reside in the apartment next to yours, and I hope that we become acquaintances someday.”

The girl stared at her for a full five seconds before she started closing the door. Yoshiko stuck her foot in the door to prevent it from closing(which hurt a lot more than what she expected).

“Wait!” she cried in her normal voice. “I just wanted to say hi, that’s all! I-I heard you just moved in, so I just... thought...”

The girl started to giggle. The door reopened and there was a brilliant smile on her face. “Then what was the big show for, silly?”

“I, er... That’s just a part of me.”

Yoshiko allowed herself in.

“So what’s your name?” she asked.

“I’m Sakurauchi Riko. You?”

“My name is Yohane-“

“I meant your actual name.”

Yoshiko averted her eyes to the side. “Tsushima Y-Y-Yoshiko.”

She had a lot of trouble trying to say her own name. She wanted to slap herself right there.

“So yeah, we live next door,” Yoshiko said, voice cracking.

“Cool, cool. You go to the school around here?”

“Uranohoshi? Yeah, I’m a first-year there.”

“That’s good, because I’m going there as of tomorrow.”

“That’s gre- I mean, that’s cool, I guess.”

Yoshiko had to stop herself from dropping hints that were way too obvious. Riko looked slightly older than she did, though.

She stretched, black particles coming out of the space in between her fingers. “What year are you?”

Riko noticed the black spots leaking out of Yoshiko’s hands. “Second year, but... What element are you?”

She stopped stretching, causing the energy to stop leaking. “I’m an Umbrae, what’s the issue?”

Riko backed away. “I’m... scared of Umbrae.”

_This just got complicated and a half._

“Lemme guess, you’re a Lux?” Yoshiko asked, waiting for disaster.

Riko’s left hand shined brightly. “Yes.. I am.”

Lux: the element of light. One was standing right in front of her.

“Welp, I hope I don’t scare you.”

Riko laughed nervously. “Please keep away from me and I might keep talking to you.”

Yoshiko rolled her eyes. Umbrae were not dangerous. It was just a stereotype that a lot of them were unstable. She understood where Riko was coming from, though. The typical light versus dark cliche.

But something felt off about Riko’s light. It didn’t feel whole like it should.

“Are you... inexperienced in magic?” Yoshiko pondered.

Riko looked away. “Y-yes.”

_This was going to be fun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware that if you’ve read one of my previous works, this is very similar to the elemental fic involving μ’s that i plan to rewrite because in the year span between now and then a lot of things have been changed
> 
> There’s a big problem with this AU in which I want the color of someone’s eyes tell what attribute they have. Yet...
> 
> Try imagining Yoshiko with black eyes and Hanamaru with pink eyes.
> 
> yeah no its not happening


	2. Humming Friend

“You can’t be serious. You’re joking, right?!” Riko exclaimed.

“No, I’m not. Save your breath for the fight.”

The evening spring air was cool as Yoshiko stared Riko down. They were standing in the park just outside of the apartment building.

A black aura had already started to surround Yoshiko’s hands. “If you plan on living here in Numazu, it’s best for you to defend yourself.”

After hearing that Riko’s magical abilities were less than stellar, Yoshiko had grabbed her and led her outside, ignoring the constant train of complaints.

“Look, we’ll start with a fight. I’ll even go easy on you.”

Riko shook her head in a panic. “No, I won’t!”

Yoshiko growled and flung her arm forwards, sending a black ball of energy and whisking past Riko’s head. Riko shrieked.

“Now listen to me and do as I say! I’m doing this for your own good here, Riko!”

Riko looked at the girl in front of her in bewilderment. Yoshiko almost had a deadly look in her violent pink eyes.

“I’ll say this one more time. If you want to live in Numazu, you’re going to need to learn how to fight. You’re too pretty to become lunch for a bunch of dragons.”

_Wait, I said that out loud._

“What? And also, dragons?!”

Yoshiko looked towards the shore. “If you want to be specific, they’re wyverns. Numazu’s known for the wyverns that come here daily. You know what they are, right?”

“N-no, I’m from Tokyo, monsters normally don’t come into the city,” Riko whimpered.

Yoshiko rolled her eyes.

_Guess this explains a lot._

Tokyo was heavily populated with people, so hostile creatures didn’t normally visit the city for food. That would be like strolling into a raging fire with nothing but the skin on your back. Even if something were brave enough to hunt in Tokyo, it would be shot down by ten different people.

“Wyverns are sort of like smaller dragons,” Yoshiko explained. “They’re more horizontal in position, which means they don’t stand up and walk on four legs. Pretty much every kid is scared of them. Wyverns can also fly, are very fast, and hunt in packs. If you want me to put it into layman’s terms, they’re like flying wolves with scales. One is about as long as we are tall.”

Riko shuddered. “Yeah, I’d rather not fight one of them, much less a pack.”

“Well, since you moved here, you have no choice. Heads up!”

Yoshiko thrusted her arm forward and sent a volley of arrows made of shadows in Riko’s way. She didn’t intend for any of them to strike, but Riko freaked out. She flinched, leading one of them to graze her leg and causing her to collapse.

“God dammit,” Yoshiko mumbled under her breath.

She ran up to Riko. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Give me a moment,” Riko responded. She was breathing heavily.

“You’re really not used to this whole fighting thing, are you?” Yoshiko asked.

“No, I’m not.”

The two of them looked off in the distance. Dusk had started to come.

Riko tried to reposition her legs in a more comfortable position. “Hold on, I think I can stand now...”

“What?! No, you can’t, it’s been two minutes, there’s no way it already healed-!”

To Yoshiko’s surprise, Riko stood up perfectly fine. Yoshiko looked at her hands. Was her magic really that weak? Sure, she was a little out of practice, but it wasn’t that long since she last used her magic. She looked down at where she pierced Riko. The wound was gone. It was as if nothing happened.

“What? But... how?!”

"I probably should've told you this earlier, but my body heals itself very quickly."

"I assume you still feel pain."

"Well, yeah."

Something here didn't fit in with Riko's logic. If she could heal herself very quickly, why was she scared of fighting?

"Could I ask you something?" Yoshiko asked.

"What's up?"

Yoshiko paused. "Y'know what, never mind. It was probably too personal of a question. I assume it has to do with past trauma, so I'll leave you be."

Riko nodded understandably. "We should probably get inside. Don't want things to jump us in the dark, right?"

"What about our training?!"

"Look, I promise that I'll do this later. Just, not right now, alright?"

Yoshiko sighed. "Fine. Numazu gets worse at night anyway, and I can't defend you from everything. Let's head home."

* * *

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Riko."

"I... guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll see you tomorrow."

The two of them headed into their homes. Yoshiko went straight into her room and collapsed onto her bed. Her energy was gone. She wasn't used to interacting with other people face-to-face, and the fact that she used magic outside didn't help very much either.

“Yoshiko?” her mom called. “It’s dinnertime.”

Yoshiko rolled out of bed. As much as she wanted to stay on the bed and potentially fall asleep, she didn’t want to piss off her mother.

“Hey, where’s Dad?” Yoshiko asked as she took her seat.

“He’s staying at the office again. Looks like the development’s finishing up. You know how your father is with uncompleted work.”

Mr. Tsushima worked as a programmer for video games. It explains why Yoshiko had a love of games since she was a little kid. Sometimes there would be cameos of herself in the games her dad worked on. It was pretty much a tradition by now.

“I took a walk with the new kid next door,” Yoshiko said through her food.

“Oh, is she nice?”

“She’s a year older than I am and also happens to be a Lux.”

“Lux? That’s a little surprising, isn’t it?”

Yoshiko started toying with her food. “Is it? I hear Luxes and Umbrae can get pretty bitter.”

“Some say they could even be the best of friends, you know.”

“Friends? Mom, this is me we’re talking about-.”

“You two were talking outside.”

It was then where Yoshiko dropped the conversation.

Yoshiko was talking to herself later in the bathroom.

“Remember that plan about friends?” she asked the mirror. “Me neither.”

* * *

She had a dream that night. It was the first one she had in awhile.

It was raining and Yoshiko stood in front of the school. She looked to her right and there stood a silhouette of a person. The person’s features were hidden, but the one part of the shadow that Yoshiko would make out were black wings.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the figure was talking.

“Your time of need will come very soon. You will need to unleash who you really are, unless you want innocent people to perish.”

“What?!”

Wind and rain whipped around Yoshiko. She caught a glimpse of the figure. It almost looked like…

Herself.

* * *

She woke up in a cold sweat with the spring sun shining in her face. Yoshiko had a strange aching pain in her back. It felt like something was trying to break out.

Yoshiko didn’t notice that the star on her palm looked different until Riko pointed it out when they met outside.

“Hold on, what the hell?”

The star was shining black. “I think this happened before, and considering I’m still here, I think it’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Riko asked.

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

On the entire trip to school Yoshiko was staring at Riko’s uniform. Sure, it was the same sailor uniform she was wearing, except with a red tie, but it just looked so cute on Riko. Her back was still aching. Except now the pain felt worse.

_It’ll probably pass by the end of today._

The bus stopped in front of the school and most of its passengers got off. Students chattered their mouths off as everyone followed the flow towards Uranohoshi.

The casual and slightly excited atmosphere in front of the school was interrupted by a scream.

“Look! In the sky!”

Many heads angled up as many more people screamed. A huge group of about fifty or so wyverns were in flight and headed right towards them. Many of them sprinted towards the school for shelter, while others were paralyzed with shock.

“Wait, this shouldn’t be happening. Why is the pack this big?” someone asked.

“C’mon, Riko, let’s go!” Yoshiko commanded.

Riko was staring into the sky.

“Riko?”

She was staring right at the horde of dragons. She wasn’t moving. Her legs wouldn’t move, despite Yoshiko’s constant pulling. Riko started to tremble. A wyvern screeched as it flew towards them. Yoshiko had to dive into Riko and push her to the side in order to move her, snapping her out of her trance.

“Riko, what the hell was that?!” Yoshiko screamed.

“I-I’m sorry! I told you I can’t fight! I can’t do anything!”

“Look, I don’t care if you’re bad at magic, just get inside the school!”

Yoshiko pulled her up and sprinted towards the entrance of the school. The energy in the air became charged as many of the students recovered from their initial shock and started fighting back. Yoshiko and Riko were right in front of the door until the biggest wyvern intercepted them. Its claw was raised.

“Riko, step back!”

Yoshiko leapt back, but Riko didn’t. The wyvern’s hand swept at Riko, and she was sent flying to the side, a tiny trail of blood following her. Students screamed as they saw what happened in front of their own eyes.

She skidded along the ground, grabbing the attention of other wyverns around her. Suddenly, four of them were looking right at the body.

The pain in Yoshiko’s back started to burn. She almost thought a Pyrros had struck her on accident. She collapsed as she ran towards the auburn-haired girl. When she tried to get up, she ended up falling back down. Yoshiko couldn’t move anymore. The pain was unbearable.

_Riko’s in trouble… I can’t let her get hurt!_

A deeper voice interrupted her thoughts.

_Your time of need will come very soon._

The words from her dream were echoing in her head.

_You will need to unleash who you really are, unless you want innocent people to perish._

A silhouette appeared in front of her. This time it was clearer.

Yoshiko was standing in front of herself.

_Do it._

“I can’t! Not after what happened!”

_Do you want innocent children to die? Or do you wish to save your friend and many others?_

As if on cue, screams pierced the air as students were getting reckless. The star gleamed.

_The star indicates your awakening._

Yoshiko wobbly stood up. “Who, are you?”

_Yourself. Your conscience. Now go._

Yoshiko closed her eyes. The pain in her back intensified. She had to do this.

For the innocent people of Numazu.

_For Riko._

She outstretched her arms and let out a terrifying scream that caught the attention of everyone and every wyvern in the battle. A huge wave of energy rumbled the ground. The pain grew once more and giant black wings erupted from her back. Yoshiko opened her eyes.

They were blood red.

Yohane had descended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers are fun.
> 
> Yoshiko finally gets some action next chapter.


	3. Strawberry Trapper

The menacing aura that came from Yoshiko was a sight to fear. Everything in front of her, including the wyverns, stopped. The atmosphere was incredibly tense.

The energy in the air went ballistic as shadowy particles began to surround Yoshiko’s presence.

A squeaky voice broke the silence. “Y-Yoshiko-chan?”

Ruby and Hanamaru had caught up to the pack of students that hadn’t taken shelter yet. Hanamaru was staring right at the Yoshiko she saw many years ago.

The very same one.

“Ruby-chan, stay back,” Hanamaru warned. “I don’t know what will happen if we get close.”

The biggest wyvern screeched and launched itself towards Yoshiko with spectacular speed. With a flap of her wings, Yoshiko flew above the wyvern in a heartbeat. Yoshiko held out her arm, and a silver magic circle appeared. Instantly, a storm of arrows made of black energy laid waste to the monster, turning it into dust almost immediately. In the short time it took to die, the wyvern let out a dying screech that provoked all of the other wyverns. The mob of dragons all took flight to take Yoshiko down.

“Everyone! Get inside of the school!” Hanamaru shouted.

As the remaining student body retreated into the school, Yoshiko readied herself. Another circle of silver light appeared at her feet and split itself into smaller circles. Three wyverns got too close and pitch black spikes ran through them and turned them to dust.

Two other wyverns breathed fire at her, and she repelled by shooting a black laser at them, eviscerating the dragons and destroying the fire.

As the battle of one girl against fifty dragons raged on, Yoshiko’s energy persisted. The air was filled with sounds of magic. The sharp sounds of spikes piercing magical gateways, lasers soaring into the sky, the breathing of fire, and the whizzing of dark arrows through the air.

One wyvern spotted Riko, still lying on the ground. It flew towards her, thinking it would get an easy meal. It thought wrong, as Yoshiko flew at blinding speeds and threw up a barrier in front of Riko before anything could get to her.

Riko finally woke up. The slashes on her waist were gone, but her uniform got ripped. That wasn’t the first thing she noticed, though.

What she noticed was Yoshiko’s wings.

“Yoshiko?”

She leaned in front of her to see the girl’s face. Riko had never been so scared in her life.

Yoshiko’s eyes were a demonic shade of red, and her expression was incredibly hard to make out. It almost looked... maleficent.

“Yoshiko!”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she thrusted her arms outwards and the barrier bursted like a bubble, forcing away the wyverns that had been attacking it. She took flight once again, this time surrounding herself in a deadly black aura that disintegrated five more.

“Hey! You!” Hanamaru shouted.

Riko turned her head towards her voice. Hanamaru was still by the door, tome open.

“Get inside!”

“But Yoshiko-!”

“It’s going to be okay, get inside!”

It felt like betrayal as Riko sprinted as fast as she could into the school.

The entire school watched from the windows as the strife continued. Now only thirteen wyverns were left. Yoshiko roared and a huge sphere of pure darkness engulfed her and most of the remaining monsters. The stragglers that didn’t get caught finally gave up and flew off in the direction in which they came.

Yoshiko’s heavy breathing started to steady. She was sweating bullets. Her signature hairbun was starting to fray. The particles of black that had been surrounding her the whole time started to fade. Her flying became unsteady as the wings on her back slowly began to shrink. Without warning, her eyes closed and Yoshiko started to fall.

* * *

“Ruby?”

“What is it?”

“Could you please keep an eye on that girl?”

“No problem, but why?”

“I don’t know if I can trust her.”

* * *

Yoshiko woke up in the school infirmary feeling like roadkill. She also had a headache that felt like someone was squeezing her brain into juice. Yoshiko tried to move, but nothing happened.

_What happened?_

Everything that had just happened was a hazy memory to her. The last thing Yoshiko remembered was seeing the horde of wyverns approach the school. Did she get knocked out?

“You’re awake, zura!”

Yoshiko made an attempt to look at Hanamaru sitting next to the bed.

“What... happened?” Yoshiko croaked. Her voice also was a cracking mess.

Hanamaru’s face went dark. “It happened again.”

If Yoshiko could facepalm, she would’ve. Instead, she groaned, which sounded like the death cry of a duck. “So much for keeping it a secret.”

“I was going to keep my mouth shut, but I guess the whole school knows now,” Hanamaru sighed.

“Wait, the whole school knows?!”

The brown-haired girl nodded. “Every student in the school saw you fight the wyverns, zura. When you blacked out, a girl with long dark red hair carried you in here.”

The thought of Yoshiko being carried by Riko only after a day they met seemed like a fever dream. She only could wish in her dreams that Riko was sitting here next to her instead of Zuramaru.

“So how long have I been out?” Yoshiko asked.

“You’ve been here for almost the whole school day.”

_An entire day wasted and my secret revealed because of a bunch of stupid flying lizards. That’s it, I officially hate wyverns._

Yoshiko spent the rest of the school day laying in bed, completely immobile. Ruby had come in to say hi, but that was about it. She was about to fall asleep right there until someone had walked in.

“Wake up sleepyhead, it’s time to go home.”

Riko popped in the infirmary with her and Yoshiko’s bags on her shoulders.

“H-hey Riko...”

“Can you move?”

“I... think I can only move my arms at the moment.”

Riko’s expression became worried, but she erased it away with a brave face. She extended out her hand.

“Hold my hand,” she said valiantly.

Riko blushed and looked away. “Don’t... take this the wrong way.”

Yoshiko was too tired to even respond. She slid her hand into Riko’s without any hesitation.

Instantly she felt her fatigue melt away. Yoshiko could stand up, albeit a little shakily, with the help of Riko by her side.

_Restoration magic. Pretty much every Lux has it. Lucky bastards._

“How’s your-,” she winced, “waist by the way?”

“The wounds are gone, but I got a little too lucky. Any closer and the claw would’ve torn my stomach.”

Yoshiko stood up fully. She could finally move, probably even more than she could yesterday. She was about to give thanks until Riko wrapped her arms around Yoshiko.

“Thank you, by the way. I don’t want to imagine what would’ve happened if you weren’t here.”

Yoshiko felt like melting on the spot. Riko’s hair smelled like lilies.

“N-no prob.”

* * *

“So what exactly was that... lightshow?” Riko asked when they got on the bus.

Yoshiko showed Riko her palm. “It has to do with this star on my hand. I’m pretty sure it was related to when you noticed it shining this morning.”

“No, I was asking how did you grow wings and how you turned into a...”

She didn’t know how to describe the form Yoshiko was in.

“Fallen angel,” she finished.

Riko looked at her skeptically. “There’s no way that persona is real.”

“No, it isn’t. I have no idea why I can do that, and I guess little me came up with that.”

Yoshiko stretched, black spots coming out of her hands once again. “Let’s get off here. I need to show you something.”

In the darkening sunlight, Yoshiko and Riko walked up to an old playground. Everything was in a grim shade of black.

“Guess they haven’t found a way to get rid of this.”

Yoshiko climbed the slide and sat at the top.

“Ten years ago, this is where I found out that I was different.”

She slid down. “I remember we had a class trip to the playground in kindergarten. It was all fun and games until a wyvern flew down from the sky and landed right there.”

She pointed at the crumbled jungle gym.

“Since everyone was like, six, nobody could fight a wyvern, even if all of us teamed up against it. I panicked, and started to cry. Now, I don’t remember exactly what happened next, but everything went black soon after. My eyes felt like they were burning. My back was in agony. I was told later that huge black wings were where my shoulder blades were.”

She felt the dirt ground. It felt very dry.

“The wyvern was gone. The teachers that were with us told my parents that I killed it. Nobody was hurt, thank God, but everyone was standing far away from me. Except one, strangely. A chubby girl with caramel-colored hair was looking right at me. I... met her again yesterday. Kunikida Hanamaru. Did you see her today? She’s a first year wearing a yellow cardigan. She was holding a large book.”

“Yeah, I think she went to the infirmary with me when I carried you there.”

“Tell her she’s a good kid when you see her. Let’s go home now.”

When they got on the bus again, Riko asked, “So what happened after you turned back?”

Yoshiko stared out of the window. “Nobody would talk to me. The teachers tried but I guess I wouldn’t respond. The only kid to keep me company was Hanamaru.”

“That’s nice.”

“I think that accident was the reason why I never bothered to make friends. I think it’s also why I never wanted to fight in fights that I knew were impossible.”

Yoshiko remained quiet for the rest of the ride home.

* * *

“Hey, Yoshiko?”

“It’s Yohane.”

The two of them were standing in front of their homes once again.

“Thanks for saving my life,” Riko mumbled. She hugged Yoshiko once again.

“You’re... welcome. I’ll... see you tomorrow.”

Yoshiko got out of the hug and walked into the apartment.

Her parents weren’t home. A written note was on the table.

_Dad and I are going out with friends. You’re going to have to get dinner for yourself._

_Love, Mom_

Ten minutes later Yoshiko was eating some of her own cooking on her bed. Her favorite snacks were her own. Tears of a Fallen Angel, as she called them. In reality, they were just takoyaki with a lot of tabasco sauce in them.

She heard noises of magic coming from the apartment next to her room.

_Riko._

Yoshiko put down her food and opened the screen door to her balcony.

There was a small slab of concrete in between balconies to prevent people from walking into another person’s apartment. Luckily for Yoshiko, she had climbed over these walls before due to curiosity. The height never really scared her.

Riko was breathing heavily. Her left hand was constantly shining. Yoshiko tapped on the glass.

The girl inside looked at Yoshiko with mild surprise.

“Open the door,” Yoshiko mouthed.

Riko unlocked the glass door and slid it open, letting Yoshiko in.

“First of all, why aren’t you wearing pants?” Riko asked.

Yoshiko tried very hard to focus on Riko’s left hand. “Just don’t look down. What are you doing, anyway?”

Riko looked at the framed photo on her desk.

It was a photo of her younger self.

A younger Riko with a Relic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some action!
> 
> I’m not too confident on writing action scenes, but I think this one turned out pretty well.
> 
> well its at least better than the stuff i’ve written before
> 
> Also, I hope you enjoyed the YohaRiko I sprinkled around the chapter.


	4. Full Speed Energy DAY! DAY! DAY!

For the last week, Yoshiko had been trying to help Riko summon the Relic in the picture. The photo showed a ten year old Riko tightly gripping a spear of light.  
  
“I found it in one of the boxes when we were unpacking,” Riko explained after Yoshiko noticed the framed picture.   
  
Every day after school, Riko and Yoshiko would meet up on the school rooftop to train. It had been going pretty well. Light and dark magic were similar enough in structure that it made teaching for Yoshiko efficient.   
  
And that was essential, because on their first day, Yoshiko admitted,” I’m a horrible teacher, so if something screws up, it’s most likely my fault and not yours.”   
  
Once, a wyvern landed onto the school rooftop in search of people to devour. The two of them took it down, or rather, Riko hid behind Yoshiko the entire time as she easily tore it apart.   
  
They had gotten very far at this point. In their last lesson, Riko had almost fully formed the spear, it was just missing the point.

“Alright Riko, I can guarantee you that in the next few days, you will be able to form a fully useable Relic,” Yoshiko said as they climbed the stairs to the rooftop.  
  
When she opened the door however, there were two other girls that were already there. One had orange hair and wore a matching orange scabbard hanging from her waist. Another girl, this time with silver hair, held a white baton in her hand.

“C’mon, You! Fight me!” the orange-haired girl shouted. She was holding out a sword. The sword looked very unorthodox; it had a bladed edge, but the edge extended out a few more inches. The sword itself looked about two feet long.

“Chika, you and I both know that you can’t fight. Can we just go home?” the girl called You replied.

Chika ignored her friend’s request and continued to stand ready for battle. The silver-haired girl sighed and flicked her baton downwards.

“You asked for it,” she warned.

A stream of water started to pour out of the baton until it formed a thin whip. Water dripped from the end.

The orange-haired girl charged first, ready to swing her sword. She swung down, which was too easy to predict for her opponent. You sidestepped the swing and wrapped the whip around Chika and threw her skywards.

It almost looked like a circus act the way it played out. Chika soared up in the air, flipping multiple times. As she spun around like a wheel, her grip on her sword was lost and it was thrown off of the school roof. When she finally landed, she landed into You’s arms.  
  
“Like I said, you stand no chance, Chika-chan.”   
  
“Oh come on, that’s not fair!”   
  
You noticed the two girls out of the corner of her eye.   
  
“Hm? I thought we’re the only ones that use this spot...” she said.

“What are you people doing up here?” Yoshiko asked.

“My friend practically dragged me up here and literally asked for a fight. What do you guys do up here?”

“I train up here and she helps me out,” Riko said.  
  
The orange-haired girl wriggled herself out of her friend’s grasp. As she got up, she was trying to study Yoshiko’s face.   
  
“Wait a minute! You’re the Umbrae from last week!” she shouted.   
  
There was no doubt in her mind that Yoshiko’s stand against the wyverns would be the talk of the school for awhile. She heard murmurs of distrust and even rumors make their way around the hallways. They were all blasphemy, that is, if you knew Tsushima Yoshiko herself.   
  
“Yes, I am indeed, ‘the Umbrae Demon.’ I prefer being called Yohane.”   
  
That was one of the titles she was given. It sounded horrible.   
  
“Wow, who would have thought that she trained up here,” You mused.   
  
“First of all, she’s not a demon, so don’t call her that,” Riko snapped. “And also, aren’t you two in my class?”   
  
Yoshiko swore she could’ve seen a lightbulb turn on above their heads.   
  
“Hey, you’re Sakurauchi!” You realized. “You train up here too?”   
  
“Yes. I do. Heck, the only reason why I’m here is because of her.” Riko nudged Yoshiko. “Come on, introduce yourself.”   
  
Yoshiko sighed.   
  
“My name is Tsushima- wait, hold on.”   
  
She was waiting for this. Yoshiko dove into her schoolbag and pulled out a jet black feather. She never had a reason to bring it to school until now. She stabbed the top of her hair bun with it and raised her hand to her face.   
  
“Fufufu, you should be honored to meet Yohane with your own eyes. I am an angel who was struck down by God himself for my ill-casted beauty. I certainly hope you will join me and my army of little demons for when I return to the heavens to exact revenge.”   
  
The two girls in front of her were speechless.   
  
Riko punched her lightly. “Her real name is Tsushima Yoshiko.”   
  
“Is it the feather that’s making her like this?” Chika asked. She pulled the feather out, earning a hiss from its owner.   
  
“Don’t touch that, you fool! This feather holds infinite power like you wouldn’t believe!”   
  
“Does it really?” Riko questioned with a smug look on her face.   
  
“No, not really.”   
  
You laughed. “You’re cool, I’ll give you that. Anyway, I’m Watanabe You, nice to meetcha! You, uh, could probably tell what attribute I have.” She held up her whip.   
  
“Hydrros?” Riko guessed.   
  
“You got it!”   
  
Hydrros was the element of water.   
  
Her friend was next. “Hi, I’m Takami Chika, and...”   
  
She paused.   
  
“What’s wrong?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“I... kinda don’t have an attribute.”   
  
“What?!”   
  
“Yeah, I don’t have one. I’m powerless...”   
  
“You’re not even Fortuido? That’s what I would’ve thought.”   
  
“No, that’s what we thought too. Apparently not.”   
  
Fortuido was the element of strength. People who possess that attribute had exceptional physical power. Apparently Chika didn’t have that.   
  
She fumbled with her scabbard before shouting, “Oh crap! Where’s my sword?”   
  
“You let go of it when you were spinning,” Riko said, pointing at the edge of the rooftop.   
  
The four of them rushed over to the end of the rooftop. The sword was lying in the foliage in front of them.   
  
“Dammit, I need that!” Chika complained.   
  
“I’m on it,” Yoshiko called. “I’ll be back soon.”

Looking for the sword wasn’t too much harder than she thought it would be. Luckily, Yoshiko saw the sword when she was on the rooftop so she had an idea of where to look. That didn’t make it any easier to avoid tripping on shrubs, bushes, tree roots, et cetera. With the help of the other three girls(or more accurately, You and Riko, Chika couldn’t see a thing that wasn’t green), Yoshiko grabbed the sword and jogged back to the rooftop.  
  
Or, she would’ve if she didn’t notice that no one was in the hallway with her. Everyone had returned home for the day.   
  
_Surely studying it for a little won’t hurt._ _  
_   
Yoshiko looked around. There was not a soul to be seen. Just to be safe, she hid behind a corner so that she wouldn’t be seen.   
  
The sword was light, even for a sword. The hilt was orange and smelled strangely like mikan. Aside from the extended blade, it was pretty normal.   
  
“Underwhelming, but meh- hold on a second.”   
  
Upon closer inspection, the middle of the crossguard held a clear gem. Yoshiko didn’t know about precious gems enough to know what material this was. She had to ask Chika later.   
  
Yoshiko was about to leave until she heard voices from the other side of the wall.   
  
“Anything come up as of late?”   
  
“No, sorry sis.”   
  
The latter girl’s voice sounded like Ruby’s.   
  
_Where the hell is the door..._ _  
_   
Luckily, there was still no one in the hallway when Yoshiko moved to the door. The sign above her said, “Student Council Room.”   
  
_Ew. Student Council._ _  
_   
Yoshiko hated student councils. She always wrote them up as stuck-up valedictorians with nothing to do but help out their school. Perhaps this stereotype was crude and kind of mean, but she never really cared about them. Maybe if she talked more, this stereotype wouldn’t exist to her.   
  
Yoshiko peered into the room. Sure enough, it was Ruby that was inside. That staff was unmistakable. There was another girl too. She had green eyes and long black hair. It was hard to make out, but it looked like she had a mole just to the left of her chin. The green tie around her neck signified that she was a third-year student.   
  
The thing that surprised Yoshiko the most were the two pistols on the table in between Ruby and the other girl.   
  
_Are those her guns?_ _  
_   
“I hate to treat one of our students like this, but for the sake of the school I need to keep tabs on her.”   
  
“I still don’t get how she’s dangerous. She transformed to save someone, didn’t she? Nobody was harmed by her.”   
  
“Ruby,” the girl said in a stern voice.   
  
“Eep!”   
  
The girl turned around and looked out of the window behind her. “You don’t understand the gravity of this situation, Ruby. Tsushima is unstable.”   
  
_Wait, are they talking about me?_   
  
“Yoshiko-chan is fine, sis! She told me that she wanted to save the students!”   
  
_Yep, definitely me._ _  
_   
“It’s not a matter of what she wanted to do. It’s what she could’ve done.”   
  
She started to turn around and Yoshiko ducked to avoid getting caught. That girl looked like she had a glare that could kill.   
  
“What do you mean, could’ve done?”   
  
“I wish I could tell you, Ruby, but the information I hold is confidential. I just want you to know that she undergoes that kind of transformation again, I want you to call me immediately, got it?”   
  
“Alright.”   
  
There was a lull in the air. Yoshiko held her breath as if the girls behind the door could hear her breathing.   
  
“I guess I’ll go now,” Ruby grumbled.

* * *

Yoshiko scrambled to stand up and ran towards the rooftop. She did not want eavesdropping to be on her resume.

“What took you so long?” You asked.

“Uh, I, uh, had to use the bathroom on my way back up.”  
  
She handed the sword back to Chika. “Nice sword, by the way. Who gave this to you?”   
  
Chika held the sword skywards, looking confident. “My parents gave me this thing when I was five, and ever since, I’ve been great at using it!”   
  
“Uh, do you know what the stone in your crossguard is?”   
  
“No idea! I think it’s glass to make it look pretty, but I’m not sure.”   
  
“That must be the most powerful glass in the world if it lasted this long without cracking.”   
  
Chika shrugged. “Like I said, I’m not sure myself.”   
  
Riko chuckled. She seemed to be enjoying the new company.   
  
“In any case, would you two like to watch me practice?”   
  
Chika’s eyes lit up. “Heck yeah I do!”   
  
“Sure, I got some time to kill,” You laughed.   
  
Riko and Yoshiko distanced themselves away from the other two.   
  
Yoshiko smiled at the progress the both of them had made this far. “You know what to do, Riko.”   
  
Riko closed her eyes. With a flick to the side, left hand shined. A pole of white light began to slowly emerge from it. Chika audibly gasped.   
  
“She’s like Honoka, You! She’s just like Honoka!”   
  
“Chika, hush.”   
  
Riko’s concentration didn’t waver. The light grew to five feet, until the image shimmered. At that point, the would-be spear shattered into hundreds of tiny specks of light.   
  
“You’ve been practicing, haven’t you, Riko?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Yeah, how could you tell?”   
  
“The spear looks a little more solid than what I saw last time, which is great. Today is where we start making your Relic usable.”   
  
Chika rose her hand, as if she was in class.   
  
“What do you mean by usable?” she asked.   
  
“I haven’t summoned my Relic in years. It’s supposed to be a spear of light, but I had completely forgotten how to make it. Hence why this lost child is here to help me out.”   
  
“I’m not a lost child, I’m a fallen angel! Stop calling me that!” Yoshiko exclaimed, flapping her arms around.   
  
The three second years laughed heartily.   
  
“Yes, haha, very funny, but let’s get back to the lesson, Riko.”   
  
Riko turned back around.   
  
“Make the shaft again. It’s about time we did this.”   
  
Once again, a long stick of light appeared right in front of the girls’ eyes.   
  
“Alright, close your eyes and open your mind.” Yoshiko held out her own arms as well, forming a spear of her own.   
  
“Woah,” You said audibly.   
  
“You want to focus on making the point as sharp as possible. Don’t make it too big or too small, otherwise it’ll be like wielding a mace or a staff instead of a spear, which are two completely different fighting styles.”   
  
A blob of light started to form on the end of Riko’s “spear.” It attempted to take shape before the whole thing shattered again.   
  
“I... felt something! That was great!” Riko shouted.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, but it’s not an actual spear until it has a point. Let’s try again.” 

In the end, Riko had almost created a full spear. “A few more days and we might just finish,” Yoshiko predicted.

* * *

Riko, Yoshiko, Chika and You all took the bus home. Chika was the first to leave, apparently she lived at an inn. She was lucky that the bus stopped literally at her front door. You was the next person to leave. She basically lived on the edge of Numazu.  
  
“See ya guys later! Good luck on the spear, Riko!” she cheered.   
  
As the bus passed her, Yoshiko noticed the silver baton sticking out of You’s skirt pocket. She vividly remembered the baton being the handle for You’s whip.   
  
“Crap, I didn’t take a good look at it,” she muttered inaudibly. “Oh well. It’s not too big of a deal.”   
  
The two of them were the last two passengers that stepped off of the bus. They watched the empty bus drive down the road.   
  
“I always forget how late the two of us are outside after my training,” Riko mumbled.   
  
“Why do you say that?”   
  
“Look at that sunset!”   
  
The sun was setting down on the horizon in front of them. Half of it was touching the ocean, so it looked like the entire sun was looking up at them.   
  
“It’s so pretty...” Yoshiko sniffed.   
  
“Are you crying, Yoshiko?”   
  
“No! I’m totally not crying over a sunset! And it’s Yohane!”   
  
The two girls laughed it off like it was nothing. Riko was getting used to this. She enjoyed the company. Yoshiko was a quirky kid, but that was what made her so fun to talk with. The two of them could go on and on for hours about whatever topic was relevant and it looked like they were having the time of their lives.   
  
The laughter ceased as the two girls peacefully walked home.   
  
They wanted it to be peaceful.   
  
An incredible ear piercing shriek interrupted their walk to the front entrance.   
  
_“PIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!”_ _  
_   
It was almost unnatural. Practically the entire block heard the scream.   
  
“What the hell?!” Yoshiko cried.   
  
“Don’t hesitate, it came from the park! Let’s go!”   
  
Riko and Yoshiko sprinted as fast as they could to the small park behind their home. What they saw was a sight to fear.   
  
Ruby was crying in the middle of the park. Hanamaru lay unconscious far away from her, scratches and blood all over her cardigan.   
  
That wasn’t even the scary part.   
  
On the entire field of dirt sparkled hundreds of flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woobs what have you done


	5. Please, Let Me Capture Your Heart!

“Ruby! What the hell happened here?!”   
  
Ruby looked up, still crying. “Y-Y-Yoshiko-chan? W-what are y-you doing here?”   
  
“I live here, but that’s not important. Why is Zuramaru bloodied and why is the entire park in flames?!”   
  
“I-We-We were going to come t-tell you something, b-but when we came here a b-bunch of wolves came out of t-the ground!” she sobbed.   
  
“Wait, wolves? Wolves don’t come to Numazu, Ruby, what are you talking about?”   
  
“There wa-was an entire pack of them, there were black on-ones and white ones...”   
  
“Spectrum wolves...” Yoshiko muttered. “I’ve read about them, and they can come out of the ground, but what the hell were they doing here?”   
  
“I-I don’t know! They just a-appeared and ambushed us! Th-they hurt Hanamaru-chan and then they all looked at me! Then I- then I screamed...”   
  
Ruby’s crying had calmed down. She finally looked up and saw the landscape in front of her.   
  
“Oh no... If Sis sees this she’ll get angry again,” she mumbled through sobs.   
  
Ruby stood up and pointed her staff at the sky. The fires around them flew up into the air and flowed into the staff. In a few seconds, the field was back to its original state.   
  
“Wait, all of that fire was from you?” Riko asked.   
  
“Y-yeah,” Ruby hiccuped. “Whenever I’m in a really bad situation, I get scared, and then I scream. When I scream like th-that, embers start to fly everywhere.”   
  
_ Note to self: don’t be close to Ruby if we get surrounded. _ __   
  
“Wait, where’s Hanamaru-chan?” Ruby asked.   
  
Yoshiko led Ruby to Hanamaru’s unconscious body.   
  
“Maru-chan!” Ruby cried.   
  
“She’s still breathing, she’ll be okay,” Riko reassured. “I can help her out.”   
  
Yoshiko lifted Hanamaru off the ground. She was still clutching her book.   
  
“C’mon. Let’s go. You too, Ruby.”   


* * *

“Thank God my parents aren’t home,” Yoshiko said as the three of them made their way into her house.   
  
Riko placed a towel on the floor and Yoshiko laid Hanamaru down.   
  
“Alright, you two,” Riko said. “Let me handle this.”   
  
She held her hand above Hanamaru’s body. A dim light began to surround her.   
  
“Wait, if your magic skills are bad, since when could you heal other people?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Oh, I’ve been able to do this for a while.”   
  
“I... see.”   
  
Yoshiko turned to Ruby.   
  
“So Ruby, what did you need to tell me?”   
  
“Wha?”   
  
“You said you and Zuramaru came to tell me something.”   
  
“Oh!”   
  
Ruby reached into her schoolbag and pulled out what appeared to be a poster.   
  
“A girl walked up to me looking really excited for something. It turns out that she wants to make an elementalist group.”   
  
“Elementalist group?” Riko asked.   
  
“It’s basically a group of superheroes, really. If you replace the superhero part with normal people, you have an elementalist group. They take requests to keep large groups of monsters in check and stuff like that,” Ruby explained.   
  
“Sounds interesting. Would you like to go, Yoshiko-chan?”   
  
“Heh. There is no need for Yohane to join some lowly elementalist group. I can fight perfectly fine by myself, and even if I can’t, my league of little demons can take care of it.”   
  
That ever-so-famous smug Riko face stared at her straight in the eyes.   
  
“What league?” she asked with a hint of pride in her voice.   
  
“Sh-shuddup.”   
  
Ruby giggled. “Hah, me and Hanamaru-chan were thinking about going. The girl also said if anyone who wanted to join they should go find you and ask if you wanted to join, Yoshiko-chan.”   
  
“Wait, why me?”   
  
“It might be because of your transformation last week,” Riko interrupted.   
  
Yoshiko huffed. “If that’s the reason why they want me there, I’m not going.”   
  
“Oh, come on, Yoshiko-chan. It’ll be fun,” Riko reassured.   
  
“Out of all of the things to be famous for, I didn’t want it to be because of this silly mark on my hand.”   
  
“I’m sure that’s not the only reason they want you to go!”   
  
“Sure.”   
  
Ruby was watching them argue like it was a tennis match.   
  
“Uh, it says here that meetings start tomorrow after school on the school rooftop,” she read.   
  
“Wait, but I teach Riko there after school!”   
  
“Guess you’ll have to train with them.”   
  
Yoshiko scowled. If she had to resort to this, she might as well join the club.   
  
She folded her arms. “Fine. I’ll join the stupid group. They might need someone with adept magic anyway.”   
  
Riko withdrew her hand. The light surrounding Hanamaru became more vibrant. Her blood washed away and her wounds closed up.   
  
“There. She should be resting for the rest of the night,” Riko huffed.   
  
“Do you want her to stay at your house or mine?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Mine. If I missed anything I want my mom to look it over.”   
  
Yoshiko raised her eyebrow. Before she could respond, Riko retorted.   
  
“My mom’s been teaching me healing magic for a year. That’s why I’ve been able to tend to wounds and such.”   
  
Yoshiko shut her mouth.   
  
Ruby stretched. “I think I’ve stayed too long. If I don’t go home now, Sis will get very angry at me. See you tomorrow Yoshiko-chan!”   
  
Yoshiko waved goodbye as Ruby walked out.   
  
“You really think we should go?” Yoshiko walked out of her room carrying her laptop.   
  
“Unless you have other ideas. Think of it this way, if we end up being successful, you get to have your army of little demons.”   
  
That thought excited Yoshiko. She entered her deep voice again.   
  
“Finally, Yohane will gain attention! It has been many a millennia since I have been noticed!”   
  
Riko giggled. “Enjoy your little act, I’m going home.”   
  
“Alright. See ya. I’ll probably be at your balcony later.”   
  
Riko carried Hanamaru on her shoulder(which seemed to be a difficult task for her, but she said she could manage) and walked out.   
  
Yoshiko, in the meantime, was researching something. Just to be safe, she looked up spectrum wolves to make sure she wasn’t crazy.   
  
_ Spectrum wolves live in highly elevated places. Celestial wolves are more common in the winter, and solar wolves are more common in the summer. During the spring and autumn seasons, the amount of wolves normalize. _ __   
  
None of this made any sense to her. If they appeared in high areas, how did they just appear right in front of her house?   
  
_ Spectrum wolves are not hostile by nature. There are many records of people taming them. There are even some people who keep them as familiars. _ __   
  
A chilling thought went through her head.   
  
_ What if someone’s controlling them? _ __   


* * *

The slow morning at school was interrupted by an assembly. Instead of going to their homerooms, students were directed to the school auditorium.   
  
Students conversed nervously. Why was there going to be an assembly this early in the school year? Did something good happen? Did something bad happen?   
  
The audience quieted down as a girl walked to the podium.   
  
It was the girl that Yoshiko saw in the student council office. Two gun holsters were strapped to her waist.   
  
_ So those guns were hers. _   
  
“Hello, students. I am your student council president, Kurosawa Dia.”   
  
Kurosawa? Yoshiko turned to face Ruby.   
  
“That girl’s last name is Kurosawa? Are you related to her?” she whispered.   
  
“Yeah, that’s my big sister...”   
  
“Big- The student council president’s your older sister?!”   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
Yoshiko shuddered. There was an extreme contrast between the girl onstage and the girl behind her. The only similarity she could see were the green eyes, but even then there was a difference. Ruby’s eye looked like a sad puppy’s, while Dia’s like a fierce wolf.   
  
Dia cleared her throat. “As you most likely have seen, there was a massive pack of wyverns that attacked the student body last week.”   
  
_ She’s going to talk about me, isn’t she?! _ __   
  
“That pack was larger than groups of wyverns normally are. Additionally, several monster attacks, including creatures that shouldn’t even be in Numazu, have been brought to my attention in the past week.”   
  
Ruby must’ve told Dia about the spectrum wolf attack last night. The students started to worry.   
  
“As of right now, the student council does not know why these abnormal monster attacks are happening, but we will reach a conclusion eventually. That is why I require you all to stay alert.”   
  
Dia began to spout numerous do’s and don’t. Don’t travel outside alone, don’t engage a monster immediately, if you see someone in trouble, help out, blah blah blah.   
  
Yoshiko was more concerned about when she would be brought up.   
  
“Finally, clubs are beginning soon. If you want to start one, please pick up a club form at the student council office. Five members are required to start a club. That is all. Please return to your classroom now.”   
  
The students trickled out of the gym. Yoshiko was now incredibly nervous. Why the hell did Dia not mention her? Did she not want to scare the students? Was it not important?   
  
Thinking about it was driving her insane, so she decided to focus on other things, like the people she was supposed to meet on the rooftop later that day.

* * *

When the last bell rang, Yoshiko leisurely packed her things. Ruby rushed upstairs, and Hanamaru, who appeared to be perfectly fine, followed her lead.   
  
Riko popped her head inside of the classroom. “You ready, Yoshiko-chan?”   
  
“As ready as you are.”   
  
Together they marched to the top of the rooftop to find...   
  
The same two girls from yesterday. And Ruby and Hanamaru.   
  
“Oh, hello, Yoshiko-chan!” Hanamaru greeted.   
  
Yoshiko looked around. “Where’s everyone else? And it’s Yohane!”   
  
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too! Me and You-chan were advertising all day yesterday!” Chika said.   
  
Apparently they didn’t advertise enough. Then again, Yoshiko looked up elementalist groups last night on a whim, results stated that most groups had four or five people, so maybe they were going to be fine. There was one that kept getting mentioned specifically, called μ’s.   
  
Maybe. It all depended on whether any of them could pull their own weight, and Riko didn’t seem like the kind to be able to do that. Yoshiko’s first priority was to make sure Riko was absolutely able to use her relic. Then after that, she wanted to start teaching Riko fighting tactics.   
  
You shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to work with what we have, then.”   
  
Chika looked like she was about to explode with glee. “Alright! Now we can be just like U’s!”   
  
Hanamaru, Riko, and Yoshiko all looked at her with pure confusion. You gave them a look that said,  _ Don’t worry about it _ .   
  
“Don’t you mean μ’s?” Ruby asked.   
  
“Wh- huh?”   
  
Ruby stood up. “μ’s. They were a legendary group made of nine girls who essentially saved their school from destruction. Stories say that their school had a secret in it, but none of them disclosed the information. It’s been five years since they started it, but they disbanded after one year.”   
  
“Muse? That’s how you say it?”   
  
“Yes, Takami-san, that’s how you say it,” a  different voice interrupted.   
  
The six girls looked towards the new voice.   
  
Dia was glaring at them.

“Wait, don’t tell me the student council president is joining the club,” You pleaded.   
  
“No, Watanabe-san, I’m not,” Dia growled. “In fact, I’m doing the complete opposite.”   
  
The air was thick with hostility.   
  
“Th- then why are you here, sis?” Ruby whimpered.   
  
Dia didn’t seem to notice Ruby earlier, but now that she did, Yoshiko noticed a tiny glimmer of weakness in her eyes. That weakness immediately washed away.   
  
“I am here to dismiss this club,” Dia said.   
  
Chika was hit with notable shock. “But, why?!”   
  
“First of all, you didn’t hand in a form, so this club doesn’t exist in the school’s club list, and second, even if you did hand in a form, I would never let this club see the light of day!”   
  
Her anger subsided.   
  
“Now please go home. All of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this feels like filler, please tell me.  
> When I was writing this, I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that this was.
> 
> send help
> 
> send yohariko
> 
> send jimo ai


	6. We've Decided Hand in Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any Engrish spoken in this fic is typed in italics.
> 
> cool i just spoiled a part of the fic

After getting brutally denied at school, Chika thought of the idea to bring everyone to the shore next to her house. They would practice there instead of the rooftop.   
  
“I wonder if the people who didn’t show up will go to the rooftop after today,” Riko pondered.   
  
“Don’t worry about that, Riko,” Yoshiko said. “What we need to worry about now is your Relic.”   
  
The two of them walked away from the group and proceeded to continue with Riko’s training.   
  
“Grrr, no fair!” Chika shouted. “How come she won’t let us have our elementalist group?! Uranohoshi doesn’t have one, and we need it! Who else will protect the school from monster attacks?!”   
  
Ruby looked away. “She used to love them.”   
  
Everyone looked at Ruby.   
  
“Dia’s my older sister, and we both used to love elementalists. μ’s specifically, too. We would even try to pretend to be them. That is, until two years ago. She stopped liking them for some reason, and she doesn’t want me to like them either.”   
  
“Weird,” You said.   
  
“Anyway, it’s not that big of a deal, so you shouldn’t really worry about it for now.”   
  
The four of them watched Riko practice yet again. The spear was coming along fine, the issue was that she had trouble maintaining it.   
  
Hanamaru stood up. “We shouldn’t be sitting here watching those two practice. How about a fight?”   
  
Chika’s eyes lit up.   
  
“Yeah! Let’s do it!”   
  
She ran towards the water. Chika’s shoes had been off since getting on the beach, Hanamaru soon removed her shoes and leggings. Eventually, the two of them were standing ankle deep in water.   
  
Hanamaru opened her book. It hovered slightly above her hand. Symbols began to flow from the tome.   
  
“I’m ready when you are, zura.”   
  
Chika unsheathed her sword, letting out a nice sounding shing as it sparkled in the sunlight.   
  
“Let’s do this!”   
  
You stood up, and summoned her whip. “Alright, you two. The rules for sparring are as follows; when you can’t move, you lose. You will start on the count of three. One!”   
  
Chika shifted her foot.   
  
“Two!”   
  
Ruby gulped.   
  
“Three!”   
  
She cracked her whip. Chika ran headfirst towards Hanamaru. She slashed at the water in her direction as a distraction. She was too fast, however. Hanamaru easily jumped back and blasted Chika with an orb of energy the size of a watermelon.   
  
Chika flew backwards and tumbled in the water. She stood back up and charged back into the fray.   
  
“I won’t lose that easily! I may not have an element, but that doesn’t make me delicate!”   
  
She slashed at Hanamaru several times and missed as Hanamaru swiftly dodged each one.   
  
“The both of them are too slow,” You commented.   
  
Ruby looked at her with curiosity. “What do you mean slow?”   
  
“Chika-chan’s normally this slow, since she lacks an element. But Hanamaru-chan is a different case. I think it has to do with the fact that she’s using a tome, but if she were using a different weapon, she’d be dodging those attacks much more faster.”   
  
“Huh. I see.”   
  
Chika continued to chase Hanamaru. She tried to slice downward, but her sword bounced off of something invisible. Hanamaru had put up a shield around her.   
  
“Hey!” Chika shouted.   
  
She kept slashing at the shield, which began to show. It became pinker and pinker, until it shattered, making her stagger.   
  
“Come on, Hanamaru-chan!” Ruby cheered.   
  
Hanamaru smirked, and pointed upwards. A pillar of energy shot up from beneath Chika and she was launched up in the air. As she reached the peak of her ascent, Chika was suspended in midair, surrounded by a pink glow. In two seconds, she was surrounded by spheres of psychic power.   
  
“Crap.”   
  
The orbs blasted her out of the air, sending her in Riko and Yoshiko’s direction. She landed face-first into the sand next to them.   
  
Riko shrieked, which shattered her spear. Yoshiko was trying to pull her out.   
  
“Riko, help me out here,” she grunted.   
  
Riko grabbed Chika’s other leg and together, they dragged Chika out of the sand.   
  
“Can she move?” You shouted.   
  
“Tell her, ow, that I can’t,” Chika responded.   
  
Chika was wet and had swollen spots all over her body. A few of her fingers were twitching. This would’ve made Riko panic if she didn’t know that this was practice.   
  
“Twitching is a side effect of being attacked by a Mentis. She should be fine. It’s definitely not as bad as what I’ve seen before,” Yoshiko commented.   
  
She picked up Chika carried her over to the rest of the girls.   
  
“Chika can’t move,” Yoshiko said. “Wish I could’ve watched the fight.”   
  
She placed Chika on the sand. Ruby gasped.   
  
Riko knelt down. “She’ll be fine, just give me a few minutes.”   
  
A pale light surrounded Chika. In a few seconds, her bruises had disappeared and her fingers calmed down. She stood up with a jump.   
  
“That was amazing, Hanamaru-chan!” she shouted.   
  
Hanamaru blushed.   
  
The rest of the afternoon went on as the group of girls trained more. Hanamaru seemed to be a strategist, she taught them tactical tricks. The most importantly one being “don’t charge headfirst, zura,” which was something Chika had been doing for years.   
  
You had surprisingly good range. Her whip could stretch up to thirty feet. She could smack you in the face from practically anywhere.   
  
Ruby had put on a real show. In the week and a half since she had met Yoshiko, she figured out how to conjure fire from her staff. Streams and balls of fire flew towards her opponents at great speed. Her only weakness was fighting up close.   
  
“Man, I wish Hanayo-san was here,” Chika commented. “I wanna see her teach Ruby-chan how to fight in melee combat.”   
  
“Who?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Koizumi Hanayo. She was a member of μ’s, and she’s a Florae!”   
  
Florae was the element for plants.   
  
“Her staff was made of grass and vines and stuff, and the top of her staff had flowers all over it! The staff had thorns too!”   
  
“Okay,” Yoshiko said. “What does this have to do with Ruby?”   
  
Chika’s eyes lit up. “Hanayo-san used her staff for physical combat too.”   
  
She took out her sword and imitated a baseball swing. “It was so cool to see her bash things over the head!”   
  
Yoshiko wondered who μ’s really was. She wanted to see what their battles looked like.   
  
“But Ruby’s staff is made from silver, not plantlife,” Yoshiko responded. “I’m not sure if she’ll be able to use it as a melee weapon. It might break, and plants are a lot more easy to repair than silver.”   
  
Chika looked towards Ruby. She was trying to swing her staff, but it didn’t look like a baseball swing. It looked more like she was trying to throw something from the end of the staff.   
  
After the last duel, which was Yoshiko against You, a fight that You won because Yoshiko underestimated her, Chika yelped.   
  
“Crap! It’s that time already!” she shouted.   
  
You seemed to know what she was talking about. “C’mon, Chika!”   
  
She dismissed her whip and shoved the handle into her pocket. Chika grabbed Yoshiko’s arm suddenly and pulled her away.   
  
“Hey! What the hell?” Yoshiko complained.   
  
“Where are you taking her?!” Riko complained.   
  
“Don’t worry!” You yelled. “It’s nothing bad, I promise!”   


* * *

 

The three of them were on a boat five minutes later. Yoshiko was gasping for air.   
  
“Why... the hell... did you do that?” Yoshiko huffed.   
  
“We have a friend that lives on Awashima Island and we see her whenever we can. We tell her what’s going on at school and after what happened last week she got interested in you,” You said.   
  
“What do you mean, interested?”   
  
“You’ll see.”   
  
The sun was touching the horizon, turning the sky pink.   
  
As they docked onto the boardwalk, there was a small boating shop close to the shore. A girl wearing a wetsuit was leaning over the fence. Her blue hair was very noticeably wet.   
  
“Heya kids,” she greeted.   
  
“Hi Kanan,” Chika and You said in unison.   
  
Kanan seemed to be studying Yoshiko.   
  
“Well, here’s our little hero.”   
  
Yoshiko wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Kanan hesitated before she said hero. Maybe it was just her imagination.   
  
“Nice to meet you, er...”   
  
“Her name is Yoshiko,” Chika swiftly said before Yoshiko could say anything.   
  
“It’s Yohane!”   
  
Kanan laughed heartily. “Whatcha people up to lately?”   
  
“Nothing much,” Chika said. “We wanna start an elementalist group, but the student council president stopped us before we could even make one.”   
  
Kanan looked like she flinched a little bit. “Well, you second-years have fun. You should know that I’m a third-year, so I have less free time than you do. I hope you kids are enjoying it.”   
  
Something about her voice seemed off. It sounded like it had hints of... guilt?   
  
Chika, You, and Kanan continued to chat about random things. Apparently Kanan was a student at Uranohoshi, but she couldn’t go since her father had a fractured bone, leaving Kanan and her grandfather to run the shop.   
  
A helicopter was flying in the sky above them.   
  
“Woah, what is a helicopter doing here?” Chika exclaimed.   
  
Kanan narrowed her eyes. “Must be the Ohara family.”   
  
“You sound bitter,” Yoshiko commented.   
  
“Don’t worry about it.”

* * *

“It’s been two years, hasn’t it?”   
  
The girl noticed a very shiny blue ponytail by the harbor.   
  
“Let’s say hi with a little surprise, shall we?”   
  
The girl unstrapped the sniper rifle from her back.   
  
“Hello, Kanan!”

* * *

The girls heard a small popping noise, and then Kanan was shouting in pain.   
  
“Kanan!” You shouted.   
  
Electricity surged through her body. The ground surrounding her was surging with electricity. Chika, You, and Yoshiko were out of range, but Chika got curious. She dipped her foot in the yellow circle and got zapped.    
  
“Don’t... step in... you idiot!” Kanan shouted.   
  
In a few seconds, it was over. Kanan was on the ground, breathing heavily. Her skin was red and smoldering and strands of her hair stuck up in funny places.   
  
“What the hell was that?!” Yoshiko asked.   
  
Kanan stood up. Her fingers were twitching a little bit. “Nothing. It was just a friend’s twisted way of saying hello.”   
  
“That’s how your friend says hello?! What’s wrong with them?!”   
  
Kanan looked at where the helicopter was thirty seconds ago. “You three shouldn’t worry about them. I’ve got a certain idiot that I need to talk to.”   
  
She stormed off in her wetsuit.   
  
“Do either of you know who she’s talking about?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
Both Chika and You shook their heads.   
  
“Well, since Kanan seems to be busy now, I think we should go home,” You suggested.   
  
“Agreed!” Chika said.   
  
Yoshiko didn’t really have a choice. Together, the three of them sailed back to Uchiura. Something about Kanan that meeting bothered her, though. Her smile didn’t look genuine after Chika mentioned elementalist groups. Must’ve been some past experiences that bothered her.   
  
“You guys think that something was wrong with Kanan?” she asked.   
  
“No, why?” Chika replied.   
  
You frowned. “Yeah, now that you mentioned it, something was kinda strange. She didn’t smile as much as she normally does.”   
  
“Maybe it has something to do with her friend?” Chika asked.   
  
“Well, that’s one theory.”   


* * *

 

“That’s a nice way of saying, ‘Hey, I get to see you again after not saying anything to you guys in two years.’ I didn’t even know you were going to come back.”   
  
“Oh, how silly you are! Of course I would come back! For what reason would I not?”   
  
“...”   
  
“Kanan, if I’m allowed to be serious right now, I’m sorry. I should’ve given up when I had the chance.”   
  
“...”   
  
“Kanan?”   
  
“You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want me to forgive you.”   
  
“K-Kanan...”   
  
“I’m leaving.”   
  
“Wait!”   


* * *

 

The next day, Yoshiko and the rest of the girls from yesterday were standing in the school chairwoman’s office, a place none of them knew existed.   
  
“We have a chairwoman?” Riko asked.   
  
“ _ Yes! _ ” the girl said in English. “But please, call me Mari!”   
  
Everyone in that room was wary of this girl, because she had a lavender colored sniper rifle hanging off of her back.   
  
Yoshiko was paying more attention to the hair loop hanging off of her head. She thought that her hairbun was hard to maintain, but that loop in her hair must’ve been a pain in the ass. On closer inspection, Mari’s hair was braided in the shape of a hairband at the top of her head.   
  
How much time does this girl spend on her hair?!   
  
“Why did you call us here?” You asked.   
  
All six of them were pulled from class and told to come to the chairwoman’s office.   
  
“Because I heard you six wanted to make an elementalist group!”   
  
The door bursted open. Dia stormed in with murderous eyes.   
  
“S-sis?!” Ruby squeaked.   
  
Dia stopped in front of Mari.   
  
“You never told me you were coming back.”   
  
“Dia! How nice to see you again! Oh, you’ve gotten so pretty!”   
  
Mari pulled her into a tight embrace. Dia didn’t seem too excited.   
  
Mari whipped around her victim and grabbed her chest. “Guess some things never change, though, mwehehe.”   
  
In a quick motion, Dia turned around and a crimson pistol was aimed at Mari’s head. “Cease your nonsense, Mari.”   
  
“ _ It’s joke! _ ”   
  
Dia put away the gun. “Honestly, you could’ve at least told me or something. I may be happy with your return, but I’m not too sure about-.”   
  
Mari threw open the curtains, yelling “ _ Shiny! _ ”   
  
In two seconds her collar was in Dia’s hand. A pistol was put to Mari’s temple.   
  
“Some things never change, you say? I see you haven’t worked on your attention span. Or lack thereof.”   
  
“ _ It’s joke _ ,” Mari giggled.   
  
“Umm, what’s going on here?” Chika asked.   
  
Mari and Dia recomposed themselves.   
  
“We’re old friends,” Mari said. “To continue what I was saying, I’m going to cut you girls a deal so you could officially become Uranohoshi’s elementalist group!”   
  
Dia glared at her. “You can’t do that. I am the student council president, and I’ve already told them-.”   
  
“Ah, ah, ah!” Mari wiggled her finger. “I can do that, because I am the school’s director now!”   
  
Dia was speechless for a few seconds. “You’re kidding.”   
  
Mari pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her pocket. “Fortunately, that is not a  _ joke _ .”   
  
She unfolded it. The paper looked official and it bore the Uranohoshi Girl’s High School symbol.   
  
“My father has contributed a lot of money to this school, and has specifically requested that I become the school’s chairwoman!”   
  
Sure enough, Mari’s full name along with a request to make her the director was written on the paper.   
  
“How is a student also a chairwoman, zura?” Hanamaru asked.   
  
Mari shrugged. “All I have to do is handle school issues, write papers, look over the staff, and all that other stuff. Just some extra responsibilities for me, really. Dad said the rest will be for the higher-ups, but anyway!”   
  
She pointed at the group of girls in front of her.   
  
“I have an offer for you girls. You probably know of the random monster attacks happening around Numazu and Uchiura. I have allowed you all to neutralize any big threats in town. If you manage to succeed your first attack, I will allow you six to have your elementalist group and even a clubroom!”   
  
Chika squealed in glee. “Really?!”   
  
Mari nodded. “I’ll let know whenever there’s a big group of baddies in town.”   
  
“Um,” Riko protested. “What if we’re in class?”   
  
“I will give you permission to leave as soon as you can. The teachers will provide you with what you missed when you come back.”   
  
Dia looked like she was ready to smack Mari.   
  
“There is, however, a slight issue,” Mari said.   
  
“What is it, zura?” Hanamaru asked.   
  
“You girls don’t have a group name.”

* * *

“How did we not think of that?” Chika asked during practice.   
  
“What’s up?” You said.   
  
“Group names. I wanted to say something, but I was going to wait until we starting doing things,” Ruby replied.   
  
“Hmm. Riko, you got anything?” Chika asked.   
  
Riko looked at the water. “How about the Six Mermaids? Because we live close to the ocean?”   
  
Everyone looked at her with doubt.   
  
“Forget I said anything. And no, Yoshiko, we’re not naming us anything that has to do with Yohane.”   
  
“I wasn’t going to say anything! And I am Yohane!” Yoshiko sputtered.   
  
“Pretty much anything will be better than the Fallen Angels. You got anything, You?”   
  
“Hmm, how about the Uranohoshi Uniform Girls?” she said while saluting.   
  
Riko turned to the rest of the girls. “I take it back.”   
  
“Eeeeeeeh?!”   
  
The beach shore was covered in rejected names in a few minutes. Everything was either too simple, too complicated, too cheesy, or something that had to do with Yohane.   
  
“Mikan? Chika, you can’t be serious,” Yoshiko commented.   
  
“Hey, do you want to be called the Uranohoshi Uniform Girls?” Chika shot back.   
  
“Well, it’s a better name than the Six Mermaids.”   
  
They laughed while Riko complained behind them.   
  
“I told you to forget that!”   
  
A few more minutes passed, and Hanamaru found something.   
  
“Hey guys? I found something, zura.”   
  
A name was scribbled in the sand. The word “Aqours” laid in front of them in English.   
  
“How do you even say that?” Chika asked. “Aq-our-s?”   
  
“I think it’s said like ‘Aqua,’” Ruby suggested.   
  
“You mean like water?”   
  
Ruby nodded.   
  
“Aqours... I like it! Who wrote this?”   
  
They all looked at each other with the same face.   
  
“Huh? If none of us wrote it, then who did?”   
  
Ruby looked to her left. A head of black hair disappeared behind a sand dune.   
  
She smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mari is a lil shit that loves to prank people
> 
> Just going to say this right now, the people in this fic are a lot more resistant to physical pain than people in the real world, something like a sword so the chest won't kill someone instantly.  
> I mean, I don't want the fic to end early when Chika kills someone on accident.


	7. If You Love It, That’s Alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> expect a bit of a hiatus coming soon
> 
> not only is my muse (haha) is dying, school is getting in the way
> 
> this also explains why this chapter is late
> 
> enjoy the chapter! im rly proud how this turned out

“Do you really expect them to perform that well?”

“ _Of course!_ ”

“They’ve only had two weeks to prepare, and you’re sending them into this?!”

“Relax, Dia. If things go the way I expect them to, our superstar angel will pull through for them.”

“You’re acting like you know it will happen.”

“They seemed pretty determined. I would at least give them some credit.”

* * *

In the time it took for Mari to inform Aqours for their first mission, Riko had finally finished creating her spear. A six foot spear made of pure concentrated light that could light up even the darkest of nights. The only issue was that Riko still had no fighting experience.

She had to train vigorously to become a valued member to Aqours. Her strength was that she had long range, at least compared to things that didn’t have ranged attacks.

She accidentally discovered during one practice session that she could heal the other girls through her Relic. Riko thrusted her spear once and a ball of light flew out, repairing the damage her opponent took in the process.

“We need to work on that,” Yoshiko coached. “It will be a valuable asset if any of us gets severely injured.”

They didn’t have enough time for her to master that, though. Riko attempted to recreate what she did to cure wounds in mid-battle, but with only moderate amounts of success.

Before they knew it, Chika’s phone buzzed one day during practice.

“It’s from Mari,” she noted.

Everyone huddled around her, anxious to hear the request they were given.

“‘There is an abnormal amount of Necros gathering near the school. I don’t know if they’re hostile or not. Make sure nothing goes out of hand. If they aren’t friendly, eliminate all of them,’” Chika read.

“Um! What’s a Necro?” Ruby asked.

Hanamaru’s face darkened. “Necros are reanimated skin. They’re kind of opaque and look like people, zura. They never come in singles and are always in a horde. The worst part is that they don’t appear naturally. This is the work of a Mortus.”

Mortus, the element of the dead.

“Woah, when did Hanamaru-chan know about stuff like this?” You said.

“I like to read about monsters in my spare time. But if this is the work of a specific person, we’ve got trouble, zura.”

“Either some kid’s screwing around with their powers,” Yoshiko mumbled. “Or someone’s deliberately doing this for a reason.”

“Anyway! Enough dillydallying!” Chika ordered. “Let’s go!”

* * *

“This is bad...” You grumbled.

Ahead of them were a horde of pale humanoid creatures. They were all see-through and shuffled around. There couldn’t be less than a hundred of them.

“D-did those used to be people?” Ruby whimpered.

“No, zura. They’re really just piles of dust that look like skin. I also need to warn you all that they’re very fast,” Hanamaru said.

“How?” Riko asked.

“They’re just skin, so they aren’t very heavy, zura.”

“Wait, if they’re skin, wouldn’t that give them a lot of air resistance? That makes things slower, Zuramaru.” Yoshiko asked.

“Okay, that one I don’t know.”

They waited around. The Necros kept standing.

“What do we do if they get angry?” Ruby asked.

“Break up into pairs,” Hanamaru said. “If they catch us all off-guard, we’re done, zura.”

Chika’s phone buzzed again.

“Mari says that if we get in trouble, she’ll try to help out...” she read.

“How is she going to do that?” You asked.

A brief period of silence washed over them.

“Didn’t... didn’t she have a gun?” Riko asked.

“Her sniper rifle. I knew I was missing something,” Yoshiko grumbled.

The six of them looked up to the school rooftop to see a lone figure crouching down. Mari was sitting there in position with her rifle in her right hand. She waved.

“What does she mean by trouble, though?” Riko asked.

“I wouldn’t want to find out.”

A few more minutes later, Yoshiko’s hand shined brilliantly.

“Crap. If this is an omen, then I guess we have no choice,” she mumbled.

“What’s that?” Chika asked, poking Yoshiko’s palm.

Yoshiko tried to cover the mark on her palm. “It’s how I can tell whether I can change form. I don’t want to do it now, I don’t have control when I’m in that form, which means I might hurt someone. If my superstitions are right, this is a bad sign.”

“So what do we do?” You asked.

“Take out as many of them as you can at first and then proceed from there.”

A black fire engulfed Yoshiko’s hand. Chika unsheathed her sword. Riko and You summoned their Relics. Ruby tightened her grip on her staff and Hanamaru opened her book.

Aqours was ready.

Hanamaru lifted her index finger and shot a large ball of energy into the crowd of Necros. The ones caught by the attack disintegrated into dust. The rest of the horde hissed and attacked.

Looking at a Necro up close was gross. Not only were they faceless, their heads were a mix of different features, like huge noses that didn’t fit on tiny faces, or foreheads that were very small. The girls didn’t have much time to look around, as they had to move quickly to avoid getting torn apart. The Necros had nails that looked like they could slice through skin like it was paper.

Chika and You stuck together like glue. They stuck to each other’s backs and fended off the monsters that came barreling toward them. Hanamaru and Ruby strayed from the bulk of the action and focused on attacking any Necros that they saw.

Yoshiko was given the task to protect Riko. Well, she wasn’t really given that task, it was more like Riko got separated from the group and was defending herself from the impending mob of Necros. Yoshiko obliterated anything in her path to reach her.

“Hey, how you holding up?” Yoshiko asked as she ran into Riko.

“I’m not doing so good,” Riko panted. There were some slashes on her arms and torso. “Could you help me out here?”

“Got it. Get behind me.”

Riko did as she was instructed as Yoshiko stretched her arms in front of herself. A black barrier appeared in front of them, stopping several Necros in their tracks. They scratched at the shield, leaving marks on the barrier.

“I can’t hold this forever, so when you’re done healing yourself, we’re going to attack together, got it?” Yoshiko said.

“Understood.”

Yoshiko watched the fight before her unfold. Chika was starting to get careless and was separating herself from You, and just like that they lost each other in the crowd. A Necro pounced Ruby, knocking her down and pinning her to the ground. Luckily, she was strong enough to kick it off and burn it to ash. Hanamaru ran up to her and covered her in a shield. When Ruby stood up, her entire body was covered in bloody scratches, like she ran her body down a cheese grater. She looked ready to break down and cry like a five year old.

_If this keeps up, we’re screwed._

About sixty Necros remained. Riko’s breathing steadied.

“I’m ready,” she stated.

“I sure hope you are, because we need to get back in there.”

Yoshiko swung her arm and the barrier broke. Out of her other hand she summoned an array of arrows and destroyed the Necros in front of them.

“Ready to run? We need to get to Ruby and Hanamaru,” Yoshiko commanded. There was a hint of worry in her voice.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They rushed towards them as quickly as they could. Riko ran her spear through a few Necros as they sprinted. They would’ve made it if there weren’t a group of Necros standing inbetween them and Hanamaru and Ruby.

“Hold on,” Yoshiko said.

“What?!”

“Just do it. We’re about to fly.”

Riko decided not to question it and wrapped her arms around Yoshiko’s waist. Yoshiko’s feet turned black and she stomped the ground. Riko screamed as the two of them rocketed up into the air and over the Necros blocking them.

They landed, but they didn’t have time to sit around. Hanamaru was fending off four monsters and Ruby tried to run away from the rest.

“Stay with Zuramaru, I’ll get Ruby back here!” Yoshiko commanded.

Riko nodded her head shakily.

“Er, you’re still holding onto me.”

The both of them blushed. Riko quickly let go. Yoshiko chased after Ruby, who was running away from six Necros. She was dripping blood, which Yoshiko guessed provoked them.

_Huh. Like sharks._

She swung her arm and a ray of black energy shot out of her fingers, disintegrating Ruby’s attackers.

“Y-Yoshiko-chan!” Ruby squeaked.

“Don’t talk, save your energy. I’ll get you to Riko. Hang in there, we’re almost done.”

Ruby followed. She was limping, but the Necros’ numbers were dwindling. They made it to Hanamaru and Riko without much of an issue.

You and Chika had made it back to the rest of the group, both covered in scratches. You had a large gash on her right arm.

“We still have work to do,” You said. “Come on!”

The six of them continued to hunt down any Necro that dared to approach them. Riko’s hand was gripping the wound on You’s arm, but it wasn’t out of fear. She was trying to repair the huge cut on You’s arm by holding on to it. It seemed to be working, since a dim glow erupted from under Riko’s right hand. The two of them were trying to stay as still as possible while also fending off any attackers. Things were going south. Ruby was still covered in blood, and as much as everyone tried, they couldn’t keep her from dropping to the floor out of fatigue.

“Ruby-chan!” Hanamaru shouted.

Her blood began to pool. Hanamaru stood by her body and covered herself and Ruby in a pink bubble.

“Keep them occupied! I’ll do all I can to heal Ruby-chan, zura!” she commanded.

Things were looking bad. Hanamaru and Ruby were benched, and Riko and You were essentially disabled. It was up to Chika and Yoshiko to keep everyone safe.

Gunshots rang out. Mari had started to put down any Necros that got close to Ruby. A row of them disintegrated instantly.

“We’re saved!” Chika shouted.

“Not yet,” Yoshiko panted. “We have a lot more to go, and we’re heavily handicapped at the moment.”

The ground shook, and dust began to collect. All of of nowhere, thirty more Necros had appeared.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chika complained.

Yoshiko swore under her breath.

* * *

“Uh, Dia?”

“What is it, Mari?”

“Get over here now. I underestimated the situation. More Necros just came by to say hello. Ruby just fainted, and her friend’s busy trying to protect her. Only two of them are fully capable of fighting right now, the remaining two are stuck together trying to defend themselves, one of them is trying to heal the other.”

“...”

“Dia?”

“I understand. I’ll be there immediately.”

* * *

Yoshiko and Chika were barely keeping up with the new monsters. Even when they followed You and Chika’s own example of having their backs to each other, they were having trouble destroying everything that came towards them. Occasionally Hanamaru fired something from her direction, but it wasn’t much help. Mari’s support didn’t do much either, sniper rifles were not designed for fights involving several targets.

Two Necros slashed at Chika at the same time, blowing her away from Yoshiko. Yoshiko had to boost into the air and away from the mob of Necros surrounding her.

Chika was now surrounded. In every direction she faced was a deformed pile of skin. There were scratch marks on every part of her body. The Necros were closing in on her fast.

“No... This can’t be...” Chika cried.

Yoshiko was trying to help Riko and You, who were still stuck together. She looked back at Chika.

“Wait, is she glowing?” she asked herself.

Chika was crying. “All I wanted to do... was to shine. I don’t want to be normal...”

She yelled.

“ _AaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!_ ”

A burst of energy staggered the Necros close to her. After a bang, several of them turned to dust. A figure shot up into the air.

Chika was radiating an orange light. But that wasn’t what surprised everyone.

_It's time to start my story, sunshine story!_

She had orange wings on her back. Chika’s clothes had also apparently changed. She was wearing a blue sailor’s outfit, along with a frilly skirt and yellow and blue stockings. Her shoes were replaced with white boots. Tied around her neck was an orange ribbon.

“Woah!” she exlclaimed. “This is cool!”

She was flying as if this were natural. Chika rushed back into the fray, this time with alarming speeds, decimating any and all Necros that came close to her.

Riko had finally finished repairing You’s arm, and both of them had caught up to Yoshiko.

“What’s going on?” Riko asked alarmingly. “Why are Chika’s clothes different?”

“I have no idea,” Yoshiko responded. “Chika... is me?”

Mari stood on the school rooftop dumbfounded. Her eyes were wide.

“No way...” Mari muttered to herself. “Wait a minute, hold on...”

As Chika cut through the rest of the horde, something was glaringly different from Yoshiko’s transformation, aside from the clothes.

“Her eyes are still red,” Riko commented.

Chika rushed past the three girls that were staring at her.

“Hey, guys!”

As she flew by, a white, blue, and black light came from Riko, You, and Yoshiko respectively and followed Chika.

“What the?!” You said.

When the lights caught up to Chika’s sword, the blade of her sword glowed. A black and white flame covered in water replaced the blade. She slashed at the air and a ray of light demolished a group of Necros.

“Yes, I know, this is cool, but I need your guys’ help too, y’know!” Chika shouted.

The three of them recovered from the shock, and got ready to fight. Except there wasn’t much left to fight, Chika had destroyed most of the remaining Necros.

The last Necro screeched, and charged towards Yoshiko. With a flick of her wrist, it exploded into black smoke.

“We, we did it,” You said.

“Hell yeah, we did!” Chika yelled. She touched the ground.

Hanamaru came back carrying Ruby. Her wounds were gone and she was sleeping.

“That was amazing, zura,” she praised.

“What was that, Chika-chan?” You asked.

“I... don’t know, heheheh,”

Was You... blushing? Yoshiko noticed that she was muttering random things under her breath.

Chika radiated orange light again, and her clothes returned to normal. Her wings disappeared.

“Wha?! Oh, come on! I liked those wings!” She complained.

Dia had come running behind them. In her hands were crimson pistols.

“Where’s Ruby?!” she commanded.

Hanamaru stepped forward. Dia lifted Ruby up and onto her shoulder.

“I was told that I was needed here, yet you all have seemed to have succeeded in your job. What happened?”

Mari appeared behind Aqours.

“I’ll tell you what happened. Come to my office, all of you.”


	8. SKY JOURNEY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lived bitch
> 
> Expect sporadic uploads, since school abuses the power of writing block sometimes.
> 
> Uploads will still always be on a Monday.

“A Dreamer?”  
  
“Yes, that’s what you are.”   
  
Ruby slept in the corner of the office while the rest of Aqours discussed with Dia and Mari.   
  
“But, what is a Dreamer?” You asked.   
  
“A Dreamer is someone who transform into a more powerful form. They grow wings, and strangely enough, their clothes change into a costume, almost as if it is a performance. Their eyes change to the color of their attribute, as well,” Dia explained.   
  
“But, Chika-chan doesn’t have an attribute,” Riko responded.   
  
“She doesn’t?” Dia and Mari asked at the same time.   
  
“No, I don’t,” Chika said. “Not Fortuido either.”   
  
“How strange,” Dia mumbled. “I’ve heard of cases like this, but I never found them to be true.”   
  
“What do you mean, ‘cases like this?’” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“There have been several reports about element-less people. It’s a common myth that there are people with no attribute and are able to copy the abilities of others around them. I, of course, never believed this. But there is living proof of that in front of me.”   
  
She looked at Chika.   
  
“Is that why my sword looked cool?” Chika asked.   
  
“I mean, that would be the only reason I could understand,” You responded.   
  
“Hold on,” Dia interrupted. “Show me your sword.”   
  
“Huh? You mean like this?”   
  
Chika unsheathed her sword. It was normal. Dia took the hilt and inspected the crossguard.   
  
“As I thought. The gem in the sword isn’t a gem. It’s glass.”   
  
“So I was right!”   
  
Yoshiko’s head spun with confusion. “Wh- How can it be glass? Shouldn’t it be broken by now if it is?”   
  
Dia shook her head. “In all of those tales about attribute-less people, they all seemed to wield weapons with some kind of glass embedded in it. It’s not widely known, but glass holds power in it. The power of all.”   
  
“The way you’re talking makes it seem like this is a fantasy novel,” Yoshiko blurted out.   
  
“Believe me, Tsushima-san. If a legend is real, so are its details.”   
  
Mari put her hands on her desk. “Back to the topic at hand, yes, Chika-chi is a Dreamer. Dreamers manifest the power of dreams to heighten the power of a person. This makes her a _valuable_ member to your team. But you will all need to train her to control this power. Many have struggled to activate it. Some even make it through their whole lives without doing it manually.”   
  
“Yeesh,” Chika said.   
  
“Anyway, I hereby declare that Aqours is now Uranohoshi Girl’s High School’s official elementalist group!” Mari announced out of the blue.   
  
The announcement seemed to catch everyone off guard, even Dia. Especially since Mari just said it out of nowhere.   
  
“No way,” Chika said. “You’re for real?!”   
  
“Yes! As real as I can be! Aqours will be an official elementalist group starting today!”   
  
Something was bothering Yoshiko.   
  
Chika, You, and Ruby squealed in joy. Dia looked like she was almost smiling.   
  
“You all know the room next to the gym, right? The one with a door facing outside?” Mari asked.   
  
“Yeah. I’ve never seen it in use,” You said.   
  
“Well, that’s your clubroom now! I hope you don’t mind a little bit of manual labor, since there’s still some stuff in there. Just take them out and I’ll have someone else take care of it.”   
  
Chika looked like she was ready to burst with happiness.   
  
“Anything else?” Mari asked.   
  
“Err, just one,” Yoshiko said.   
  
She turned around. “You guys can go on ahead, I need to have a talk with them.”   
  
Everyone looked confused.   
  
“Yoshiko-chan?” Riko said.   
  
“Just go, I’ll catch up.”   
  
One by one, they left the room, Riko being the last one to go. Hanamaru temporarily stopped by Ruby.   
  
“Should I take her home, zura?”   
  
“No,” Dia responded. “It’s alright, she’ll stay with me.”   
  
When everyone disappeared behind the door, Yoshiko asked, “What am I?”   
  
“Hm? What do you mean?” Mari responded.   
  
“You clearly knew what was up with Chika. This happened to me a few weeks ago, but some things were different.”   
  
“Dia? Could you tell me what’s going on? I’m lost.”   
  
Dia sighed. She told Mari of the events that took place a few weeks ago, when a pack of wyverns ambushed the school body.   
  
“ _Oh. Oh my_ ,” Mari said when Dia finished talking.   
  
Her eyes widened, as if she knew a secret that Yoshiko didn’t know.   
  
“W-well, yes, you’re also a Dreamer, but you’re a different type of one.”   
  
“There’s different kinds?”   
  
Mari’s expression looked panicked. “I’ve never heard of an Umbrae that changed their eyes to red, though.”   
  
She stood up. “I’ll have to do some research later. In the meantime, enjoy your clubroom!”   
  
Mari practically pushed Yoshiko out of her office and shut it when she was outside.   
  
“Well, that was weird.” 

* * *

“So Chika can... manifest the power of dreams?” Yoshiko asked.  
  
“I mean, that’s what she said, yeah,” You replied.   
  
Yoshiko and Riko were riding the bus home with You. Apparently she also lived in Numazu, and pretty close too. Yoshiko was looking at You’s Relic.   
  
It was about the size of a conductor’s baton. The handle could extend like an antenna. At its smallest, it was the size of an eraser. Apparently there was a tiny snowflake painted at the bottom of it.   
  
“What’s the snowflake here for?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“It’s a joke from a family member. Apparently one of them keeps associating me with blizzards, so they drew that on the whip when I wasn’t looking. I never really bothered to get rid of it. It looks nice.”   
  
“But, why blizzards?”   
  
You shrugged.   
  
When she got off the bus, Riko laid her head on Yoshiko’s shoulder. Her face suddenly grew hot.   
  
“Uh, Riko?”   
  
“Sorry,” Riko yawned. “It’s just that today was our first mission. I’m really tired right now.”   
  
Yoshiko felt her heartbeat at a million miles per hour.   
  
_So that’s how it is, huh?_   
  
“I can feel your heartbeat, Yoshiko-chan.”   
  
Yoshiko wanted go say something witty, or something about fallen angels, but all that came out was, “Uh-huh.”   
  
They sat like that for the rest of the ride home.   
  
“Riko?”   
  
No response.   
  
“Welp, gotta do this the hard way, then,” Yoshiko mumbled to herself.   
  
She put one arm under Riko’s knees and the other behind her back. Yoshiko was lifting up Riko like a princess.   
  
Her legs were wobbling as she walked home.   
  
_I could’ve given her a piggyback. I could’ve just woken her up. But this is more fun._   
  
Riko began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened to see Yoshiko with the dorkiest smile on her face.   
  
“Y-Y-Yoshiko-chan?!”   
  
Yoshiko didn’t respond. She was trying very hard not to laugh.   
  
“Yoshiko-chan?”   
  
She was ready to laugh. “What’s up?”   
  
“Why are you carrying me?”   
  
“I’m taking you home, of course!”   
  
Yoshiko didn’t dare look at Riko’s face but she could tell that it had turned bright red.   
  
“Can you... please put me down?” Riko asked.   
  
“Nah. First I’ll get you home.”   
  
Riko was laughing now. “Tsushima Yoshiko, you will put me down right this instant!”   
  
“Who?”   
  
Her smile was smug.   
  
Riko sighed. “Yohane, please put me down.”   
  
Yoshiko set Riko down.   
  
“You couldn’t have just woken me up?” Riko asked.   
  
“Nah. Too boring.”   
  
Riko punched her arm lightly. “You troublemaker, you.” 

* * *

The next day was Sunday. Yoshiko spent the entire day next door at Riko’s house, giggling at the shenanigans of the group chat that Chika had made. Originally it was for group meetings and whatnot, but now it had turned into a mess of jokes, memes, and arguments.  
  
“Hey, I wanna try something,” Yoshiko suggested.   
  
“Hm?”   
  
“Follow me outside.”   
  
The two of them were once again in the park behind their apartment building. The air was starting to become warm. Spring was beginning to turn into summer. Yoshiko was glad for that, she preferred the hot weather.   
  
Yoshiko looked up into the sky. Three wyverns were flying around in the sky on their lonesome. The closest one was about a thousand or so feet away.   
  
“How confident do you feel about fighting a wyvern?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Excuse me?”   
  
“I believe in your skills. We’ve taught you enough about fighting. I want to see if you can do this.”   
  
“Yoshiko-chan, I...”   
  
She thought for a moment.   
  
“I accept.”   
  
Yoshiko laughed. “This isn’t a dare, Riko. I’m just experimenting. If anything goes wrong, I’ll help you out.”   
  
She pointed her finger at the closest dragon.   
  
“You ready?”   
  
Riko nodded. Her Relic was already in her hands.   
  
Yoshiko fired an arrow made of darkness out of her finger. It soared incredibly fast through the air, and barely missed the wyvern’s wing.   
  
Even though it missed, the wyvern was provoked. Once it found the location of its attacker, it began to nosedive towards Yoshiko.   
  
“Up to you, Riko!”   
  
She dove behind her as the wyvern hit the ground. Riko stepped towards it. It screeched, vibrating the air around it.   
  
The wyvern rushed towards Riko with its claw raised. She swiftly stepped back, avoiding the swipe. Riko strafed around the dragon, keeping distance so she would get time to react if it moved.   
  
The wyvern rushed in, and Riko sidestepped, this time piercing its scaly flesh with her spear. It screeched in pain, but it wasn’t going to go down that easily.   
  
It spun, swinging its tail. Riko didn’t have enough time to jump back, so she held her spear in a defensive position to intercept the tail with the spear’s shaft.   
  
Just before the tail made contact, a magic shield appeared around Riko and the wyvern’s attack bounced off. As it was stunned from recoil, Riko took the chance to pierce the dragon’s skin again.   
  
“Nice!” Yoshiko cheered.   
  
The dragon shrieked as yellow blood trickled from its wound. It still had some fighting spirit inside it, but not much. It opened its mouth and a stream of flames flew out of it. Riko wasn’t prepared, and she was hit with the full force of fire breath. The fires petered out, and Riko was still standing, ash was covering her skin. Other than the fact that she looked like she sat in an oven, she looked fine.   
  
The wyvern limped towards Riko and raised its wings as a final attempt to kill her, but she was too fast.   
  
As it spun with its wings outstretched, Riko leapt up into the air and stabbed the wyvern directly in the head, disintegrating it instantly.   
  
Yoshiko clapped slowly. “Damn. That was amazing. Are you sure you’re scared of fighting?”   
  
Riko didn’t respond. Her eyes looked distant.   
  
“Riko?”   
  
Riko blinked once, and shook her head violently. “Ah, jeez. I think I need a nap. Wait, several.”   
  
She collapsed, but not before Yoshiko caught her.   
  
“Woah, Riko, are you alright?”   
  
“Can we go back home? I’m sleepy...”   
  
Yoshiko raised Riko up on her back and carried her back to her house.

* * *

“Hm? Oh, this is gonna be great!”  
  
“What are you going on about now?”   
  
“Just thought of another recipe for disaster.”   
  
“Not again...”   
  
“Nononono, this’ll be great! I promise!” 

* * *

A few weeks of nothing had passed. Training had gotten more efficient, as Aqours began to fight in groups of two and three. Hanamaru found a new training regime near her house. Unfortunately, she was the worst at it.  
  
Near Hanamaru’s house was a very long staircase that had a great view at the top, but the girls have tried to get up there several times, failing each time. The run up the stairs posed as a test of stamina, but the stairs were so long that not even You and her athleticism could get up without taking a break.   
  
There was a day where everything was going as per usual. Riko and You had almost gotten to the top, and the rest of Aqours were struggling to climb up.   
  
The girls were sitting at one of the rest points of the climb. There was a view of the ocean in front of them.   
  
Suddenly, there were footsteps coming from behind them.   
  
“Wait, are we missing someone?” You asked.   
  
“No, everyone’s here,” Ruby said.   
  
The six of them looked around with confusion. All of a sudden, they saw Kanan jogging up the path.   
  
Chika flinched. “What the-?!”   
  
Ruby immediately covered Chika’s mouth with her hand. “Keep your voice down.”   
  
Kanan passed them without even batting an eye.   
  
“The hell is Kanan doing here?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Who?” Riko and Hanamaru said.   
  
Surprisingly, Ruby didn’t question anything.   
  
“She’s me and Chika’s friend,” You replied. “We’ve known her since we were kids but we didn’t know she came up here.”   
  
“I’m gonna follow her,” Chika said, breaking out of Ruby’s grasp.   
  
Without hesitation, Chika started jogging up the steps. The rest of Aqours followed.   
  
They weren’t that far from the top. It was only a few minutes until they saw Mari and Kanan staring at each other face to face.   
  
“... I’m not returning and you know that,” Kanan growled.   
  
Mari’s face looked passive. A complete opposite of the scowl that Kanan wore on her face.   
  
“Stop stalking me.”   
  
“Kanan, aren’t you bored with what you’re doing right now? Holed up in your dad’s shop?”   
  
“I’m perfectly fine, Mari. I have plenty of things to do on my own.”   
  
Annoyance was strewn everywhere in her voice.   
  
“But Kanan, you saw how well they did!”   
  
Kanan flinched. “They barely passed.”   
  
_Barely passed? She was watching us?_ _  
_   
Six girls were listening intently to the conversation in front of them.   
  
“Ruby collapsed, and if it weren’t for Chika, they would’ve been dead.”   
  
“But they still did it, didn’t they?”   
  
“Hmph. You’re still not convincing me.”   
  
Heavy silence filled the air.   
  
“I’ll let you go for now,” Mari chuckled. “Mari’s got some things to do later, so bye-bye!”   
  
Before she walked down the stairs however, she turned around and said, “By the way Kanan, don’t go hunting again? Please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so first we got the start of hurricane blizzard  
> bless youhane
> 
> and second we got more yoshiriko
> 
> ur welcome
> 
> chika's cool tho


	9. HAPPY PARTY TRAIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Early update!

It had been three days after the girls found Kanan and Mari at the top of the stairs. Every single one of them had been questioning what connection Mari had with Kanan.

Yoshiko was playing video games in her room with the lights off. Typical. She was listening to music coming from her laptop. Also typical.

What was not typical was when Yoshiko looked outside the window and saw a figure in the night sky. The small area around the figure glistened.

_Is that a wyvern? Can’t be, it’s too small._

Yoshiko walked out to her balcony. On closer inspection, it had wings, but the wings were opaque. Almost as if they were made of,

“Water?”

Yoshiko turned off her game, and sped to the laptop. She didn’t want to let this mystery creature escape. Yoshiko quickly searched up _creatures with aquatic wings._

Nothing came up fit what Yoshiko saw. They were either all too big or too small.

“If it’s a dragon that’s definitely the smallest dragon I’ve ever seen.”

Yoshiko threw on a purple sweater and sprinted out of her door.

It was 11PM. There was no way her parents would’ve let her stay up this late.

_I’d better start making excuses now._

Yoshiko had already told her family about the elementalist group business. Her father seemed confident in his daughter’s abilities, but Yoshiko’s mother seemed more concerned than anything.

When Yoshiko ran outside, the winged figure was still in her sights. It was just circling around Numazu.

“If I could get a better look, that’d be nice.”

Something in the back of her head was nagging her, but she ultimately decided to ignore it.

_I’ve got worse chances than a snowflake in hell if I want to control myself._

After what seemed like ten minutes of staring into the night sky, the thing began to descend.

“What if that’s a fallen angel, such as myself?” Yoshiko asked herself. “Has God struck down another ill-behaving angel? Was it because she was too pretty? Or was it because she caused mischief in the heavens?”

She giggled at the thought. Such a stupid idea.

Yoshiko chased the descending figure. The thing was heading towards a nearby beach.

“Thank God it didn’t choose the school or something stupid, like Zuramaru’s house.”

Yoshiko followed the figure until it was within sighting distance. The figure looked almost human. In fact, it was human.

_A Hydrros?!_

Certainly enough, that was a person with gigantic wings made of water. Each wing was about the size of the person themselves.

Although it was hard to tell at night, they were wearing an incredibly weird outfit. They had black boots, but a blue, red, and yellow dress. Chains jingled as they flew down. They also wore something that looked like a conductor’s hat. Their right forearm was concealed in a large block of water.

_Who is this?! A vigilante?!_

The person slipped their feet into the water. The person kept walking into the ocean until their head disappeared.

“Well, that was weird.”

Yoshiko wanted to just leave it at that, but curiosity got the better of her. She stayed put until something would happen.

And sure enough, something happened five minutes later.

About three hundred yards away, the person breached out of the water and took flight. Two seconds later, a giant monster followed it.

The monster was huge. It looked like a gigantic snake, its light blue body being as thick as a small house. The eyes glowed white as it searched around for the prey it was chasing.

_A sea serpent?! What the hell is it doing in Numazu?!_

The serpent roared, but not loud enough for it to be alarming at the distance Yoshiko was. Its mouth glowed, and it shot a ball of water into the night sky. Apparently it missed, since it didn’t stop shooting water out of its mouth.

There were small sparkles that were appearing randomly around the serpent. It took Yoshiko a little bit to realize that those weren’t random; those were very large gunshots.

She could hear the bangs of gunfire from here. That meant the person was fighting the godforsaken serpent.

_Are they mental?!_

The serpent dove back down into the sea. The person that was fighting it stayed where they were. They moved immediately after a few seconds, as the serpent rushed out of the water again.

Then it happened. The serpent turned its head and its white eyes bore into Yoshiko’s soul. She felt fear. Immense fear.

_Run._

She didn’t notice until now, but her hand was shining.

“Wh-? Now?!”

The hand seemed to glow in response.

“Hold on, give it a little.”

The serpent fired a ball of hyper-pressurized water at Yoshiko. She dove out of the way to avoid getting obliterated. The ball nearly missed her, but she knew that if she ran, she would die.

She knew that if she fought the serpent, she would also die.

_Serpents are known for attacking with energy balls from their mouths, so if I were to attack it while its mouth were open, I think that would kill it._

This was going to be difficult, but it didn’t matter. She also had the help of Mystery Person, so that would be easier on her.

The serpent dove into the water and reappeared closer to Yoshiko. It roared again, except this time Yoshiko understood the severity of the situation.

The serpent opened its mouth. A blue glow began to form in between its teeth.

Yoshiko fired an array of arrows into the monster’s maw. They clearly made contact, as the serpent writhed in pain when they connected. But that didn’t stop it from attacking.

The blue in its teeth turned into blinding light and the serpent fired a huge laser at Yoshiko. She barely dodged it.

The mysterious Hydrros caught up to the monster. They didn’t seem to notice Yoshiko. The person started to pepper the serpent with gunshots. The thing on their arm was their weapon, apparently. It turned out that it was some kind of arm cannon that shot in spreads of bullets.

Yoshiko tried to aim for the serpent’s eyes, but it was too fast. Her magic would just barely miss her targets. It took until now for the Hydrros to notice Yoshiko. When they made eye contact, Yoshiko saw glowing blue eyes.

_Glowing eyes? But that means this person’s a Dreamer!_

Yoshiko faltered, which was her mistake. The wyvern landed a clean shot on her, causing Yoshiko to get blown backwards. Luckily, she didn’t hit anything, except her head on the ground.

Yoshiko got dizzy from landing. Her sense of direction was screwed and she couldn’t get up before falling back down.

The Hydrros flew down next to Yoshiko and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. “Hey, you alright?”

The Hydrros’ voice was female. Their voice sounded strangely familiar.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Yoshiko replied.

There was such a calm aura coming from this person. She was in the middle of a fight against such a large beast, yet she looked so casual about it.

Yoshiko could almost make out her face until she took off the ground.

“You’d better be powerful if you want to make this thing fuck off,” she said. “I don’t know why you would pick a fight against it, but if you want to help, it’s your funeral, not mine.”

_As if the serpent looking at me was my fault._

She flew towards the serpent. It seemed to have lost Yoshiko. The wyvern turned its aggression to its attacker, the Hydrros. It opened its mouth and out of it flew thousands of shards of water, almost as if it were spitting out its teeth. The Hydrros swiftly dodged the bullets.

It was like watching a person trying to swat a very annoying mosquito. The wyvern couldn’t get a solid hit on the Hydrros, but she would fly around the wyvern in any direction and shoot at it.

Yoshiko began to help once more. She got to the shore and started to shoot black magic at the serpent.

But that wasn’t enough to stop the serpent from shooting the Hydrros out of the air.

The serpent shot the biggest laser Yoshiko had ever seen at the Hydrros. Yoshiko knew she got hit, because her body went tumbling through the air and into the ocean.

The monster turned its attention to Yoshiko.

_Fuck._

The thought in the back of her head turned into the only thought in her head. It had only been two months since she transformed. She had to do it now, serpents were extremely dangerous. There should’ve been no reason it would be in Numazu. If it was here, there was no doubt in her mind that someone was doing this.

“If it’s a fight you want,”

Yoshiko posed.

“It’s a fight you’ll get.”

She closed her eyes and began to chant.

“Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson. The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortions! I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss!”

_I’ve been watching too much anime._

“Let’s do this!” she shouted.

Yoshiko reopened her eyes and released an explosion of power. Her eyes turned red. Her back ached incredibly, and wings bursted out. A black aura surrounded her.

Yoshiko flew at the serpent at full speed. She casted a magic circle and fired a black laser at it.

It wasn’t expecting the attack, so the laser caught the serpent at full force. The serpent shook off the damage, and opened its mouth.

Yoshiko yelled, and a black spike stabbed the monster straight in the mouth. The serpent coiled back in pain, roaring.

She didn’t care that the serpent’s roar was terrifying. She couldn’t care.

Yoshiko pointed her finger at the serpent. Behind her, nine magic circles appeared.

Before the serpent could do anything, several storms of arrows flew straight into its eyes.

The serpent screeched and writhed, but that didn’t save it from death. Yoshiko put up two more magic circles, and two giant lasers turned the serpent to ash.

There was a tugging sensation in Yoshiko’s gut. Like there was something horribly wrong.

The Hydrros resurfaced. Her hood was off.

Yoshiko would’ve realized who the Hydrros was if she wasn’t Yohane.

Because the Hydrros fighting the serpent was Kanan.

* * *

Kanan held her breath for as long as she could. She would’ve drowned at this point if she wasn’t a Hydrros.

Kanan sat underwater, waiting out the fight. The serpent was huge, but Yoshiko was the more powerful fighter. Somehow.

Kanan was completely shocked when she saw Yoshiko fly. The kids weren’t kidding.

Suddenly, two black lasers flew past her. When she looked again, the serpent was gone.

Kanan thought it was safe to resurface, but she was wrong. When she finally took a breath of air, a black spike nearly gored her.

“Wha-?!”

Arrows began to fly in her direction, and if she didn’t take flight, she would be a goner.

_What the hell is Yoshiko doing?!_

She soared into the air as she avoided spikes, lasers, arrows, and energy balls.

“Yoshiko! Snap out of it!” Kanan yelled.

There was no response. Yoshiko’s glowing red eyes told her everything.

“Yoshiko!”

Kanan pointed her cannon at Yoshiko’s wings and fired. Some of the pellets caught her wing and she shouted in pain.

She grunted, and a magic circle shimmered in front of her hand. Kanan had to drop in order to avoid the spike that Yoshiko just summoned.

There was no way to make Yoshiko stop without outright killing her.

“What do I do?!” Kanan asked herself.

An idea formed in her head almost immediately.

Kanan aimed her arm cannon slightly to the right of Yoshiko. She fired, and the force was so powerful that the bullets that made contact spun Yoshiko like a top.

Kanan then flew over Yoshiko.

“Sorry, kid.”

Kanan rammed into her. Yoshiko was sent tumbling towards the ocean, but a simple tackle like that wouldn’t keep her from moving.

Kanan chased after her and grabbed ontobYoshiko’s waist. Yoshiko was struggling, hard. She flailed, trying to cast magic circles, but none of them came.

Kanan flew her victim into the ocean. She had to keep going and going down.

It wasn’t too long until Yoshiko stopped resisting. The last few bubbles came out of her mouth. The wings shrunk and the aura around her dissipated.

“Alright, now let’s get you back up before I accidentally kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A. Kanan is supposed to be wearing her Happy Party Train outfit in this chapter.
> 
> B. I feel very bad for you Yohane lovers (myself included) that read that last part. That hurt to write.
> 
> C. I hope you enjoyed that not-subtle-at-all refrence.


	10. I Want to Love as More Than a Girl

Yoshiko woke up feeling like a fish. Her entire body was wet, and she was in nothing but her underwear.

She tried to sit up, but was immediately stopped by the intense pain in her back. Specifically her left shoulder blade.

Yoshiko didn’t notice until now that she wasn’t in her house, but in someone else’s.

The door opened, and Kanan came in with a cup.

“Oh, hey. You’re up,” she said.

“Kanan? Where am I?” Yoshiko croaked. Her voice was groggy. “Why am I wet and half-naked?”

“You don’t remember?”

Yoshiko shook her head.

“Well, I don’t know why you all of a sudden tried to attack a giant fucking monster, but yeah you fought a sea serpent earlier.”

The events from earlier began to flow into her head. Suddenly Yoshiko realized what Kanan was wearing.

“Wait... You were the person with wings?!”

Kanan shrugged. She was still wearing the red and blue dress. Her giant wings were folded behind her back.

“Well, there was probably no way you didn’t see me last night, so yeah.”

Yoshiko finally found the strength to sit up. “Where am I?”

Kanan put the cup she was holding on the nightstand. “My house. I mean, I don’t know where you live, so I just brought you to the closest place where you wouldn’t get killed.”

“Um? Okay? But why am I wet and half-naked?”

“You transformed almost two hours ago.” Kanan answered. “You killed the serpent, thank God, but you were hostile.”

Yoshiko froze. “Hostile?”

“You attacked me. I had to literally drown you to get you to stop and return to normal.”

She was speechless. Yoshiko knew her Yohane form was unstable, but she didn’t think that it would be uncontrollable.

Kanan began to glow blue. It turned into a blinding light, and then dimmed. When the glow was gone, Kanan was wearing a trench coat, a blouse, and ripped jeans. Her wings were gone. Her eyes returned to purple.

Kanan smiled awkwardly. “Outta time.”

“So you are a Dreamer,” Yoshiko confirmed.

Kanan’s smile faded and her eyes narrowed. “Wait, how do you know what that is?”

“Mari told me-.”

_Shit._

She said too much. There was a tense silence around them. Did Yoshiko want to tell the truth and tell her that Aqours were eavesdropping or did she want to act like Kanan wasn’t watching?

Kanan sighed. “I guess she would’ve told you after what happened with Chika-chan.”

Yoshiko didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she exhaled.

“I was watching your guys’ first mission. It was awful.”

Yoshiko felt shame. “You really thought so?”

“In your case, you shouldn’t have been in pairs, considering how large that horde of Necros was. If that were the case, Ruby-chan wouldn’t have fainted and you would’ve had Hanamaru-chan to help out as well.”

“Alright, I guess. But why were you watching us?”

Kanan waved her hand in the air and a ball of water swirled around it. Immediately, it formed into the shape of a shotgun.

“Dia-chan told me to keep an eye on you in case things went haywire,” she said.

“Wait, you know Dia?!”

It almost seemed like too much of a coincidence that Kanan, Mari, and Dia all knew each other.

“We’re, for a lack of a better term, old friends.”

If Kanan didn’t deny that she was watching them, Yoshiko knew that she should just ask.

“I saw you confront Mari the other day,” she stated.

Kanan flinched. “You were eavesdropping?!”

“Not just me, Chika and the others too.”

Kanan swore under her breath. “So you’re probably pretty confused, aren’t you?”

Yoshiko nodded. “First of all, what did she mean by hunting?”

Kanan walked around the room and then looked out the balcony. “I used to be a mercenary of sorts. Took assignments for people as both a part time job and a hobby. Guess that habit hasn’t left my system yet. That’s also how I found Dia-chan. One of my first missions came from her parents. I remember those days. She was cute.”

“But what’s your deal with Mari? You two act like something bad happened.”

She sighed. “After a little while, Dia-chan joined me in my mercenary work. I don’t know why scared little Dia-chan wanted to fight, but I didn’t question it. In about year or two, Mari transferred to our school. We made friends with her immediately. As we grew up, we became an unstoppable force.”

Yoshiko looked at the cup on the nightstand. “This for me?”

“Yeah. It’s hot, though.”

Yoshiko moved over to the nightstand and took the cup. She sipped it gingerly.

_Tea._

She wasn’t too big of a fan of tea, but she enjoyed it from time to time.

“What caused you three to break up?”

Kanan looked away. “It’s all my fault.”

“What?”

“A day before a very important mission, Mari got seriously injured. The request came from her dad, you see. Have you heard of the Ohara family before?”

Yoshiko shook her head.

“Mari’s father is the owner of a very famous hotel chain. Her house is the fucking hotel on Awashima Island. It’s like we’re neighbors.”

“Woah.”

“It’s dumb, I know. Anyway, Mari was in no shape to fight, yet she insisted anyway.”

It was here that Kanan paused.

“I was too harsh. I shouldn’t have quit.”

If this were a cartoon, this was when Yoshiko was supposed to do a spit take. Instead she choked on her tea. Typical trademark Yohane luck.

“You what?!”

“I kept telling her that she couldn’t come with us. We were handicapped, essentially. Mari couldn’t run for two seconds without tripping. Eventually, I got angry at her. I snapped. I abandoned the mission out of frustration.”

Yoshiko was quiet. From the sound of it, Kanan didn’t want to injure Mari any more than she already was. Kanan cared a lot for Mari’s well-being. Even if Mari could fight, she would’ve been in danger at all times.

She began to undress. “You should get some more rest. You’ve used up a lot of energy.”

“But-.”

“I’ll tell my folks you’re here. I can crash in the living room. Good night.”

Kanan turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving Yoshiko with questions spinning in her head.

* * *

Yoshiko had a strange dream that night. A young woman with purple hair was sat at a table in a room lit only by floating candles.

“What? That’s weird.”

Yoshiko noticed the tarot cards spread out in front of her. The one in her hand right now was the Chariot card in the reverse position. The woman drew another card. This time, it was the Wheel of Fortune in the upright position.

“Hm?”

She drew a third card, which was Lovers, upright.

“Haha, that seems about right.”

She put the three cards back into the deck and shuffled it.

“I wonder what they’re up to...”

* * *

“Kid, you’ve been in my bed all morning. Get up.”

Yoshiko rolled over to avoid the blinding light that came from the window.

“Too bright...” she mumbled.

As an Umbrae, she had a typical dislike for intense light. She liked summer, but this was one of the few things she disliked about it.

“Yoshiko-chan, come on.”

Yoshiko turned her head into the pillow. It smelled like the ocean.

“No. And it’s Yohane.”

Kanan sighed. Yoshiko heard shuffling and then the blanket was stolen from her grasp. Suddenly, an arm was sweeped under her legs and back. Kanan was incredibly strong, she lifted her with almost no struggle.

“It’s noon, Yoshiko-chan. You’re lucky today is a weekend. Get up.”

Yoshiko rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Fiiiiine.”

Kanan set her down. “You’re so childish it’s actually kind of cute.”

Yoshiko rolled her eyes. She planted her feet on the floor only to realize that she was still half-naked.

“Um, can I have my clothes back now?”

“Mm? Oh, sure. I’ll be right back.”

Kanan exited the room. When she came back, Yoshiko was looking at a framed picture she didn’t notice earlier.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“That old thing? It’s a picture of us back in our first year.”

The picture showed Mari, Kanan, and Dia standing proud in front of Uranohoshi. All three of them were armed with their respective guns. Their faces were beaming.

“Y’know, you should apologize to Mari,” Yoshiko suggested as she dressed.

Kanan froze.

“Last night you showed some remorse. Actually, you showed a lot to me. Mari thinks you’re still angry with her. Surprise her.”

Kanan sighed. “I wish it were that easy. I don’t want to, just in case any bitter feelings come up.”

“You don’t remember how she treated you the other day? She clearly wants you to come with us.”

“I already sa-,”

“Before you mention injuries of any kind, we have Riko. She saved Zuramaru from near death.”

Kanan sucked her teeth.

“Give it a shot. What do you have to lose?”

Kanan muttered something.

“I won’t make any promises.”

* * *

“Kanan! What’s making you call me of all people?”

“Hey, um, could you meet me at school? Like, now? I-I need to tell you something.”

“Wait, what?”

“Right now. Just, meet me at school.”

* * *

 

Mari sat idly in her office. She was looking out of the window and at the pink sky.

_Why did she want to meet with me? Is she mad at me? Is she depressed without me?_

These thoughts had been surrounding her head since Kanan called.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Come in.”

The door creaked open, and Kanan walked in.

“I thought I would find you in here.”

Mari turned around to find Kanan staring at her. What she expected was anger. Instead, Mari saw regret in her eyes.

“Kanan?”

“I asked you to come out here because...”

She paused.

“Because?”

“I’m... sorry.”

It felt like something shattered.

“For treating you like a dick these past few weeks. It wasn’t fair of me to treat you like this. Act like a douche to my best friend.”

Mari couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Th-that’s it? That’s all you have to say to me?”

Mari’s voice began to waver. “I-I-I haven’t seen you in two years, Kanan! You abandoned me! You expect me to forgive you just because you said sorry?!”

Tears formed in her eyes. “I don’t even care about your attitude for the past month! I never wanted to study abroad! You think that I thought it was fun?! All I wanted to do was to enjoy life with my friends! You think two years of wasted time can be thrown aside for a simple fucking SORRY?!”

Every word stung Kanan. Every. Single. One.

“Why I ought to-!”

“Mari, calm down!”

That seemed to snap her out of her anger.

“I didn’t come here just to tell you that. I came here to tell you the truth.”

Mari blinked several times. “Eh?”

Kanan took a deep breath. “You see, back in our first-year, I overheard the offers that the teachers gave you for studying abroad. You remember how I acted that year, right?”

Mari hiccupped. “College crazy. You wouldn’t shut up about it back then.”

Kanan kept moving her eyes side to side. “I... I wish I could tell you this earlier, but I did it for your sake. I didn’t want all of those free chances to go to waste because of us. That’s why I quit.”

“You... you...”

Mari was flabbergasted.

“Everything you did, was for me?”

Kanan nodded solemnly. “I should’ve told you everything. I’m so stupid, aren’t I?”

Mari’s tears were spilling. “You fucking-!”

With the speed of lightning, she slapped Kanan straight on the cheek.

“You looked out for me. Why couldn’t you let me do the same for you?!” Mari shouted. “I care about you! If you take that lightly I will never forgive you for it!”

Kanan retorted instantly. She was crying. “If that’s true, then just say it! Say it to me!”

“You’re right. So please...”

Mari turned her head. She was vulnerable. She wanted Kanan to slap her back.

* * *

“If they found out she went outside, we’ll get in trouble!”

“Hush!”

The blonde girl found two other girls from her classroom hiding behind the fountain in one of the many yards of her home.

“Who are you?” the girl asked.

The girl with long black hair squeaked and stood up.

The other girl in overalls tried to find something to say.

“H-hug!”

“What?”

The girl in overalls stood up. She extended her arms.

“Hug!”

* * *

 

Kanan outstretched her arms.

“Give me a hug, Mari.”

It took several seconds for what Kanan just said to register in Mari’s head.

She tried to hold back tears.

Instead her eyes were overflowing.

Mari dove into Kanan’s arms, bawling her eyes out. Kanan was doing the same.

“I’m so fucking sorry,” the both of them kept repeating.

* * *

 

The sun had set long ago, and Kanan and Mari were sitting on the rooftop. The night sky sparkled with stars.

“Hey, Mari?”

“Mm?”

Both of their eyes were still red from crying.

“Do you remember that time on the boat where I promised you something?”

“Kanan, you’re going to have to be more specific than that, you know.”

Kanan shuffled closer to Mari.

“Okay, you got me there. But, I want you to remember when we were first years and you told me about your opportunities to study abroad.”

“Yeah?”

“I told you that even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.”

“Oh, I think I know what you’re talking about. What about that?”

Kanan moved even closer to Mari. She was practically on top of her at this moment.

“I... uh...”

She began to blush.

“I meant that in a different way, you know. Not... as...”

The end of that sentence was turned into a jumbled mess of mumbling.

“Come again?” Mari said.

“I didn’t mean that as a friendly promise...”

Kanan took a deep breath.

“Mari, I love you.”

Mari sat there in shock for a full minute.

“You can’t be serious, Kanan...”

She began to tear up again.

“When?” was all she could say.

“Back in our first year. I knew it from our first mission that year. I don’t know exactly when, but I knew that when it happened, I couldn’t think anymore. Mari, I need you.”

Staring into Mari’s beautiful yellow eyes was mesmerizing. Everything about the girl in front of Kanan was brilliant in its own way.

They were practically touching noses by now.

Mari was the one to move.

They kissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaaa u thought only yohariko would be in this fic think againnnn
> 
> also damn kanan is a god at carrying people
> 
> suwawa too she did it to ainya and i flipped my shit when i saw that


	11. Childish DREAMER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not dead! hooray!

The firework festival had come. Every year the town would reach out to a random elemental group to make sure nothing ruined the festival, but this year the town specifically requested that Aqours would protect them.

“The festival should start any time now,” Dia said. “We will split into groups of three, separated by year.”  
  
Chika, Riko, and You were in charge looking over the tunnel that led to out of town. Due to the recent monster attacks, Dia figured that some non-native creatures would attempt to come into Numazu via land, so the second-years were placed there to stop any oncoming attacks.  
  
Ruby, Hanamaru, and Yoshiko were at the beach closest to the festival. Hopefully no wyverns would interrupt the fireworks, but the festival went into the dark hours of the night, so that thought was a fantasy.  
  
Finally, Dia, Kanan, and Mari were the scouts. Anything or anyone that seemed out of place was their target.   
“You all have each other’s phone numbers, correct?”   
  
Everyone nodded, save Hanamaru. Apparently she lived in an old temple, so she didn’t really have a grasp on electronics.   
  
“If your group is in trouble, call someone immediately.”   
  
“Man, I’m so excited!” Chika said. “It’s amazing that we’re finally getting recognized!”   
  
You chuckled. “Well, the town’s not that big, but I guess she has a point. I was surprised too when the town asked us to be their protector.”   
  
“Maybe we’ll become the town icons!” Ruby dreamed.   
  
The warm air was full of excitement. Aqours had nine members. This was going to go amazingly.   
  
Or so they hoped.

* * *

"Man, I thought guarding the festival would be more fun than this...” Chika whined.   
  
“Chika-chan, it’s not that bad, calm down,” You said. “At least we get to see these beautiful fireworks!”   
  
You was right. The evening sky was peppered with loud bangs as colored explosions went off. Chika and You loved the festival and watched it every year since their birth. This was Riko’s first time watching it, but she instantly loved it. Pink fireworks were going up now.   
  
You suddenly shivered, which was outright wrong. It was summer, there should’ve been no reason she would shiver on a warm night.   
  
“You-chan? What’s up?” Riko asked.   
  
“I feel... cold. Why?”   
  
“I don’t feel anything. What’s the matter?”   
  
Chika suddenly appeared next to them. “You-chan’s sensitive to cold. It’s a Hydros thing.”   
  
A short time passed before Chika and Riko began to feel chills.   
  
“Where’s it coming from?”   
  
“It might be... from the tunnel,” You whined.   
  
The three of them kept a close eye on the tunnel ahead of them. Chika unsheathed her sword.   
  
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she commented. “Get your weapons ready.”   
  
You summoned her whip and Riko grabbed her spear. A light blue glow began to emanate from the tunnel.   
  
“That’s not good,” You warned.   
  
The glow became brighter and brighter until monsters were visible.   
  
“Glaci monsters!”   
  
Glaci was the attribute of ice. Several humanoid-like shapes made of ice were marching towards them.   
  
“If only Ruby-chan were here, these things would be a cakewalk,” Chika muttered. “You-chan! Get behind me and stay away from them!”   
  
“You don’t need to tell me twice.”   
  
She ran behind Chika before they engaged. The three of them charged into the tunnel. Chika would’ve attacked the front monster if it didn’t raise its hand and spoke.   
  
“Stop,” it said. It had a woman’s voice. The voice was strangely familiar.   
  
The creature in the front was an ice golem. It was made of several large blocks of ice. The golem had to bend down so it wouldn’t bump its head on the ceiling.   
  
“Woah! It talks?!” Chika shouted.   
  
“The golem is not talking, its summoner is. Lower your weapons.”   
  
Riko and Chika did as she ordered, but You gripped her whip harder. She couldn’t see another person around, all she could see was ice.   
  
“Oh, yeah?” she said. “Why should we trust you? Where even are you?”   
  
“To answer your first question, there will be a massive attack launched on Uchiura tonight. Hordes and hordes of monsters will come streaming from every entrance possible.”   
  
“What? Why?” Chika asked.   
  
The summoner woman stayed quiet. “It’s best for you not to know.”   
  
“Whaaaat?”   
  
“And to answer your second question, I’m in a place far away from here.”   
  
“Wait, how are you doing that?”   
  
“I’m merely using an enchantment that lets me speak through this golem. I personally call him Yusuke.”   
  
Something at the other end of the tunnel screeched.   
  
“That can’t be good,” You said.   
  
“Get ready,” the summoner warned. “They’re coming.”   


* * *

“Look!”   
  
Hanamaru pointed towards Awashima Island. An army shadows were flying across the sky and towards the first years. None of them resembled Kanan.   
  
“Get ready, you two,” Yoshiko warned. “We’re about to have a fight.”   
  
Ruby swung her staff and a burst of fireballs flew out of it. The targets easily dodged out of the way and continued flying.   
  
On closer inspection, the figures were humanoid-shaped. They wore black robes and had black wings.   
  
“Is that help, zura?”   
  
Some of the figures sent their hand forward and a blast of water came hurtling towards Ruby.   
  
“Ruby! Look out!”   
  
Hanamaru quickly stepped in front of Ruby and formed a shield in front of the two of them. The water crashed harmlessly against the shield.   
  
“Judging from that, no!” Yoshiko shouted.   
  
She swiped her arm and an array of arrows flew towards the mob of shadows. Some of them hit the shadows, disintegrating them on the spot.   
  
They landed with a crash. As soon as they landed, a group of them shot streams of fire. Yoshiko and Hanamaru jumped back, but Ruby was too slow. Flames engulfed her whole figure.   
  
“Ruby!” Yoshiko cried.   
  
She was about to run in and save her, but Hanamaru grabbed her collar before she could start running.   
  
“Zuramaru! Let me go-!”   
  
“Stop, zura!”   
  
“But Ruby-!”   
  
“It’s okay!”   
  
“What?!”   
  
Ruby ran out of the inferno completely unscathed. Neither her skin nor her clothes were burnt. She swung her staff and a blast of fire incinerated a crowd of the attackers.   
  
“Wh-?! But!”   
  
“I’m fireproof!” Ruby cheered.   
  
“Ruby-chan is entirely immune to, zura,” Hanamaru explained. “Her clothing is also enchanted to be fireproof.”   
  
Yoshiko stared. “But, immunity to fire is a royalty thing!”   
  
Ruby blushed. “My parents say that our bloodline has touches of royalty in it. One of our ancestors was even an empress.”   
  
Yoshiko was stunned, but she could not stay for long.   
  
“Talk later!” she ordered. “We’ve got things to deal with and I don’t plan on dying now!”   
  
Yoshiko knew exactly what the attackers were. They were mere illusions. Illusions were humanoid-figures that wore robes that were the color of their creator’s element, which meant an Umbrae was up to this. However, something was awfully wrong with this.   
  
An illusion shot ice out of its palm and Ruby cancelled it out by shooting fire from her staff, killing the illusion in the process.   
  
The illusions should’ve only had dark magic. That was the issue. Something much more powerful than a mere Umbrae could summon illusions with multiple attributes. The robes they wore bore slight resemblance to their element.   
  
The three of them fought as many illusions as they could, but they seemed endless. Too many of them were landing nearby.   
  
Yoshiko glanced over at Hanamaru. She was facing off against four flying attackers. A second later a column of light trapped them. Hanamaru flicked her finger and the illusions trapped inside tumbled around like clothes in a washing machine. They disintegrated instantly.   
  
Yoshiko watched for too long. Suddenly she was shot by thorns. She wasn’t paying enough attention to her own fights. Yoshiko shot off as much dark energy as she could but that wasn’t enough to hold off the horde coming after her.   
  
Actually, why was there a horde after her?   
  
Yoshiko had just now noticed that most of the illusions had been targeting her.   
  
“We’re losing!” Ruby screamed.   
  
“Keep it together, Ruby-chan!” Hanamaru commanded. “We can do this!”   
  
Yoshiko wasn’t too optimistic herself. Every time they struck down an illusion, three more took its place.   
  
Ruby started to blabber. Strange noises began to come from her mouth, like she was an animal trying to cry for help.   
  
“Pi... pi, pi...”   
  
Small pink flames started to appear in the air. Her hair began to glow.   
  
Hanamaru’s eyes widened.   
  
She ran from Ruby’s side and blasted her way through the horde surrounding Yoshiko. Hanamaru dove into her, sending both of them to the ground.   
  
“Zuramaru, what the-?!”   
  
Hanamaru raised her arm and a shield generated around them. As soon as she did, Ruby screeched.   
_   
“PIGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!” _   
  
In an instant, the pink embers turned into an inferno. A hemisphere of flames exploded out of Ruby, incinerating every illusion caught in the blast. It was so powerful, Yoshiko could feel the heat inside the shield.   


* * *

“Uh, we might have a problem.”   
  
Dia stopped walking. “What did you do now, Mari?”   
  
Mari smiled goofily, as if her head went “fuc.”   
  
“I think I left the vials for Dia in my room.”   
  
Dia dropped her guns out of shock. In an instant, Mari was being held up in the air by her collar.   
  
“This was a very important mission, Mari. You almost screwed it up.”   
  
“Dia, stop! She just forgot!” Kanan protested.   
  
Dia stared into Mari with murderous intent. “I’ll let you go this time,” she growled. “Only because Kanan will kill me if I hurt you.”   
  
“Pfft. I mean you’re not wrong!” Mari laughed.   
  
She was lowered to the ground.   
  
“In all seriousness, Dia, I’m sorry about that. I could fly back and grab them-.”   
  
“If only we weren’t still on the job,” Kanan finished.   
  
“Yeah, that.”   
  
The fireworks going up were now purple, red, and green. The fireworks always reminded them of when they were kids.   
  
Dia sighed. “I hope Ruby will be okay.”   
  
“She’ll be fine, I’m sure of it,” Kanan reassured.   
  
“Mm.”   
  
Dia was in silence for a while until Mari asked a question.   
  
“She inherited your mom’s element, right?”   
  
“Yes. Our mother is a Pyrros, our father is a Gaia.”   
  
“You ever wonder how good of a sorceress Ruby will become?”   
  
Dia sighed. “In my dreams. My parents say I worry for her too much.”   
  
Kanan mumbled something to Mari, who chuckled.   
  
“What?”   
  
“Nothing, she was just telling me about how much you remind her of us.”   
  
“What?!”   
  
“Ah, Dia. You’re a lot like me, y’know?” Kanan said.   
  
“How?”   
  
“Well, maybe it’s because both of us are way too overprotective over who we care about.”   
  
Just as she said that, Mari dove into Kanan’s chest.   
  
“H-hey!”   
  
Dia chuckled.   
  
“God, I love you so much, Kanan,” Mari cooed.   
  
“Could we not do this in front of Dia? It’s embarrassing.”   
  
“No.”   
  
She shot Dia a deadpan look. “Could you tell that we’re dating?”   
  
They all laughed. Just then, Dia received a text message.   
  
Dia froze. “It’s from Yoshiko-san.”

* * *

The second-years would’ve been dead long ago if it weren’t for this mysterious summoner lady. Her creations defended any oncoming monsters with relative ease.   
  
That didn’t mean that they didn’t have a hard time, though. The monsters that attacked them were all foreign to Numazu. Chika saw zombies, small dragons, giant spiders, and what looked to be gargoyles.   
  
You shouldn’t have been worried, since an army of ice creatures stood before her and fought alongside her, but she couldn’t shake off a bad feeling. Something felt off.   
  
Riko was suddenly right behind her.   
  
“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked, breathing heavily.   
  
“I’m not doing bad, but I’m cold.”   
  
Riko giggled. “You’ll be fine. Chika-chan, on the other hand...”   
  
“Huh?”   
  
You looked out into the crowd of monsters storming the tunnel.   
  
Chika was in the middle of it.   
  
_ She must have overextended again! God dammit!   
_   
“Chika-chan!” she shouted. “Get back here!”   
  
Chika couldn’t hear her over the din of combat. She slashed, hacked, and stabbed at every monster that came at her. Chika was weak, and sure, she didn’t have an element, but she was basically a prodigy when it came to her swordsmanship. She was having fun.   
  
“Wow! Look at her go!” Riko said.   
  
That’s what felt off. Chika won’t last forever doing that.   
  
Chika would be fine. After all, she had an ace up her sleeve. Or at least, that’s what she wanted to think.   
  
After causing so much destruction, she had caught the attention of practically every monster in the tunnel. She smirked. Chika tried to emulate the same panic that initiated her to transform into her Dreamer mode.   
  
“I want to win,” she chanted. “I will protect my town!”   
  
She waited. The monsters drew in closer.   
  
Nothing was happening. Her confidence quickly turned into panic.   
  
“Chika-chan!” Riko and You cried.   
  
The summoner’s creatures stopped what they were doing and immediately rushed to her aid, leaving a bunch of the monsters they were fighting to Riko and You.   
  
“Oh, boy,” You said. “We need to follow the ice monsters, I don’t want to get surrounded.”   
  
“Sounds good to me.”   
  
Together they fought their way to the army of ice and put themselves in front of the ice creatures. Chika was getting swarmed by monsters. Her efforts provided little results, as she couldn’t fight off the horde that was on her for much longer.   
  
“Oh man, what are we going to do?!” You panicked.   
  
Riko ran in.   
  
“Riko-chan?!”   
  
The ice creatures followed her and battled any monster that got in their way. You was forced to follow.   
  
She slashed her whip against anything that got close to her, but it didn’t help much. It occurred to her that fighting hordes of monsters was not her style. Her whip had range, sure, but it lacked power.   
  
“Grrr, why did she have to run in like that?!” she shouted.   
  
You saw a small head of orange hair running around. She had to get to her.   
  
You backed up to get a running start, and ran directly at the horde. Just before colliding with a zombie, she leapt into the air. As she came down to the earth, You landed on a monster’s head, and bounced back up. She landed right next to Chika.   
  
“Chika-chan! Are you okay?!”   
  
Chika wasn’t responding.   
  
_ Are those, tears?! _   
  
She collapsed. Chika had scratches and bites all over her body. Some of the marks looked green.   
  
You screamed. She didn’t know what to do. She was panicking. Huge icicles were dropping from the ceiling, but her head didn’t register that it came from the ice creatures.   
  
“You-chan!” Riko shouted.   
  
You looked up. Riko was holding her spear in the air.   
  
“Grab Chika-chan and grip my spear with your whip!”   
  
You didn’t have time to ask, so she lifted Chika up with one arm and flicked her whip towards Riko.   
  
The whip wrapped around the spear several times, then Riko swung her spear backwards, bringing You and Chika with her.   
  
“Wooooooaaaaah!”   
  
Luckily, You didn’t land too badly. Chika skidded a few feet away from her. They were now at the entrance of the tunnel.   
  
“You okay?” Riko asked.   
  
“Riko-chan, that was... crazy.”   
  
“I know, but now’s not the time for dilly dallying. What the hell are we going to do? Chika-chan’s out, and that army of ice won’t hold forever against this, this, this army of monsters!”   
  
She was right. Even though more creatures made of ice would form from time to time, it wasn’t enough. About thirty of them remained, which felt like a speck compared to what they were fighting.   
  
“It’s hopeless...” Riko muttered.   
  
You didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. “Did we fail?”   
  
Two figures suddenly landed in front of them. Their faces were covered by visors. Both of them wore a frilly dress that exposed their shoulders. A piece of cloth hung on the side of the hem of the dress. The dresses were different color; one was pink and the other was light blue. The pink woman held a huge black scythe in her hands. It was as long as she was tall. The other woman held two knives that had blades made of ice.   
  
“Who are you?” You asked.   
  
“That’s not important. What’s important is that you need to get to safety,” the woman in blue responded.   
  
“We’ll handle this,” the other woman said.   
  
“But, you’re just two people!” You complained.   
  
“Just go!”   
  
You was awfully suspicious of them. But, any help was good help in this situation. You and Riko retreated with Chika in You’s arms. They had to get to the beach where the first-years were stationed.

* * *

“Ruby!”   
  
Dia blasted her way through several illusions before reaching her sister. Ruby was bawling her eyes out.   
  
“What happened?!” she demanded.   
  
“We were getting overwhelmed, zura,” Hanamaru wheezed. “She screamed.”   
  
Pink flames still illuminated the beach.   
  
Mari and Kanan caught up.   
  
Mari wore a sleeveless purple and white yukata, on her left hand was a fingerless-glove and on her right arm hung a piece of fabric. A purple bow sat in her hair. The huge wings on her back were formed of electricity. Her sniper rifle was nowhere to be seen, but in her palms were pure electricity. Kanan trailed behind her, wearing the same costume she wore during Yoshiko’s late night journey. Apparently it was supposed to be a train conductor’s outfit, she explained earlier. She also had her water wings.   
  
Yoshiko didn’t notice until now that little beakers, flasks, and test tubes of varying colors hung from Mari’s waist.   
  
“S-sis! I w-was so s-scared!” Ruby sobbed.   
  
Dia quickly embraced Ruby. “It’s okay. I’m here. You will no longer be in any danger.”   
  
Ruby’s crying grew more intense. Her hair started to glow an intense red. “I’m sorry! I th-thought I could’ve b-been useful and help!”   
  
“Ruby, it’s alright. You don’t need to cry.”   
  
Ruby’s crying finally began to calm down, along with her hair. “You’re not mad?”   
  
“Of course I’m not mad. For what reason I could get mad at you?”   
  
Ruby sniffed. “I wanted you to see me as a strong girl, not like what you see now...”   
  
“Oh, Ruby... You’re always strong in my eyes.”   
  
Dia hugged her sister tighter, until she began to hear running behind her.   
  
“Guys!”   
  
Riko and You came barrelling from the road. Chika was in You’s arms with injuries that could’ve been potentially fatal.   
  
“You-san? Riko-san? What happened?!” Dia commanded.   
  
“We were overwhelmed,” You gasped for air. “There were so many monsters. Chika got too confident and I think she tried to depend on her Dreamer form. It didn’t work.”   
  
“Oh, God...” Hanamaru gasped.   
  
“Hanamaru-san! Yoshiko-san! Put up a barrier around us now!” Dia yelled.   
  
They both nodded. A large shield of psychic and dark energy surrounded Aqours.   
  
“We’ve got this,” Kanan said.   
  
Mari and Kanan both flew out of the bubble and up in the air with their weapons ready. Chika was laid on the ground for Riko to heal.   
  
“What happened to the tunnel, then?” Dia asked.   
  
You tried to explain what happened.   
  
“We need to thank that summoner if we ever meet her,” Yoshiko suggested. “I’m absolutely sure that you would’ve been dead if it weren’t for her.”   
  
“But who would attack Numazu, and how would she know this?” Dia pondered.   
  
“She said that the reason was a secret,” Riko replied. She was turning pale. Healing Chika was a very hard task, especially because of the amount of damage she sustained.   
  
“A secret? What’s that supposed to mean?”   
  
You and Riko shrugged.   
  
“But what about the two mysterious women, zura?” Hanamaru asked.   
  
“We have no clue,” Riko said. “I’ve never seen anyone with those kinds of weapons before. Has anyone else seen them?”   
  
Everyone else shook their heads, except Dia and Ruby.   
  
“You guys know?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
Dia looked at Mari and Dia fighting. “Well, it’s more of a theory than what we know, and besides-.”   
  
“The people we’re thinking of haven’t been heard from in years,” Ruby finished.   
  
“What?” You asked.   
  
Kanan lowered herself to the rest of the girls.   
  
“Uh, guys? I’m pretty sure two of us can’t kill off an entire army of illusions here, could we get some help?”   
  
She was right. It had only been ten seconds since she left Mari’s side and illusions had already begun to overwhelm her.   
  
Dia turned to the rest of the girls. “We’ll tell you later. For now, Riko-san must stay here!”   
  
Yoshiko had to dismiss her barrier, as she couldn’t use it and attack at the same time. Hanamaru could keep hers up, however. Together, they stepped out of the pink barrier and into a warzone.   
  
Mari was a big enough of a threat without wings. She had lightning-fast reflexes and spectacular aim. Yet, in the sky, she was even deadlier than she was on the ground. Mari threw lightning out of her hands, zapping any oncoming attackers. Her speed was unparalleled, as no one could keep up with her. She and Kanan stayed together at all times, never keeping a far distance from each other. They were an amazing team together. Mari always called out where the enemy would strike next and Kanan protected her from any incoming danger, no matter how small.   
  
It was kind of strange how Dia was the only third year without wings, but so far, she didn’t need them. Dia showed absolutely zero mercy and slaughtered any illusions that got in her path. Her crimson red pistols where things of anarchy, yet it felt like Dia’s fighting style was more akin to a dance than actual fighting. The sounds of gunshots rang throughout the battlefield.   
  
Ruby had to stay underneath the barrier. She had used up too much energy from releasing her inferno. She watched from the sidelines and destroyed anything that got too close to the barrier.   
  
Yoshiko scowled. With no intention on her own, she had put herself up against a Lux illusion. Sure, she had the advantage, but it was also a disadvantage. Lux and Umbrae were both strong and weak against the other attribute. This meant that fights between them had to be fought like a chess match.   
  
She stared it down. The hood it wore made the illusion faceless. Its hand glowed with a golden light. Gold stripes ran down its black robe, which looked really off putting to Yoshiko. But these were illusions, so they didn’t really get a choice in what to wear.   
  
Or what to think.   
  
It immediately charged.   
  
_ Typical. These are illusions, they don’t have thoughts. An illusion with a strategy is like me catching a lucky break.   
_   
The illusion charged right for Yoshiko with its palms raised. She dodged to the side, but not without bumping into another illusion. Miraculously, she was fast enough to erect a shield before she got electrocuted to death. Once the surge of lightning ended, she kicked the illusion in its shins, tripping it and shot an arrow into its chest.   
  
The light illusion was still chasing her, and she ducked this time. Right as the illusion soared over her, she raised her hand and blasted it up into the air.   
  
Yoshiko was doing fine, save for the thorn still in her calf, but Hanamaru was beginning to be backed into a corner. She was backing up into an oncoming pack of illusions.   
  
“Oh no, you don’t!” Mari yelled.   
  
She picked out a beaker with some kind of purple mixture inside of it.   
  
_ “LOCK! OOOOOOOON!” _   
  
Mari threw the beaker with incredible strength and it shattered against the illusions behind Hanamaru.   
  
Suddenly, everyone’s heads turned to look at where Mari threw her mixture. They couldn’t turn their heads and their only option was to attack whatever they were looking at. Yoshiko didn’t know what the hell was going on, but it was beneficial. The girls focused on the illusions that were hit by whatever Mari threw. In an instant they were destroyed.   
  
“Mari-chan, what did you just do!?” Hanamaru asked in excitement.   
  
Mari chuckled. “Oh, you don’t know? I’m quite the chemist! That was just a simple _lock on_ potion!”   
  
The idea of Mari being a mad scientist that made potions horrified Yoshiko, but whatever worked was good.   
  
Some time later, Chika stepped into the battlefield again. Now that her wounds were healed, she was a lot more aggressive than she was at the tunnel.   
  
“Chika-chan!” Hanamaru cheered.   
  
She didn’t respond. Chika kept the onslaught going. She destroyed entire waves of illusions all by herself.   
  
“Go, Chika-chan!” You shouted.   
  
Every now and then, Chika would pop in and out of combat, helping out anyone that seemed like they were getting themselves in trouble.   
  
“Everyone out of the way!” Kanan shouted.   
  
On her arm cannon, a large ball of water was beginning to form. Dia knew what this meant.   
  
“Everyone, retreat to a safe area!” she commanded.   
  
The girls did as told, and Mari appeared next to Kanan.   
  
“Ready?”   
  
“Ready!”   
  
Kanan pointed her arm down and fired. A huge globe of water came barreling down straight for the ground. At the instant it touched the ground, Mari blasted lightning at the water, causing it to explode into electricity. Any and all illusions that were caught were fried to a fine crisp.   
  
The sun had set long ago, yet the fight was still going on. Without Riko by their side, no one could heal up.   
_   
Wait a minute, what?! _   
  
Yoshiko had just realized that Riko was not seen since the second years retreated to the beach. The thorn that was in her leg had still been there, but it should’ve been gone if Riko was here.   
  
“Riko?!” Yoshiko yelled.   
  
No response. Her only option was to find Chika, who wasn’t in sight either.   
  
“The hell?!” Yoshiko said to herself. “I literally just saw her two seconds ago, where did she go?!”   
  
She got too busy looking for Chika and didn’t notice the orange illusion flying straight at her. When she did notice, it was too late. A sharp pain hit her stomach, and Yoshiko was sent flying into the air.   
  
Mari grabbed her before she began to descend.   
  
“Woah! That was close. You okay, Yoshiko?”   
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. And it’s Yohane!”   
  
Mari rolled her eyes and set Yoshiko back down on the ground where it was safe. Ruby was standing next to where she was put down.   
  
“Hey! Yoshiko-chan! I’m back!”   
  
“Oh, hey. Ruby- uh, it’s Yohane, please. You feeling better?”   
  
She nodded. “Yeah!”   
  
“Alright. Let’s crush these things.”   
  
Ruby ran to her sister’s side while burning anything that got in her way.   
  
“Sis!”   
  
“Ruby? I thought you were supposed to be with Riko-san,” Dia said, while shooting three illusions at once.   
  
“I’m feeling much better now! You wanna do it?”   
  
It took Dia a few seconds before realizing what her sister said.   
  
“It’s been a while since then, are you sure you remember how to do it?”   
  
Ruby put on a brave face. “How could I forget our signature move?”   
  
Dia imitated her sister’s face. “How foolish of me.”   
  
They both kneeled. Somehow they didn’t catch the attention of any illusions near them.   
  
“Our bond will never be broken,” Dia started.   
  
“As long as both of us stand,” Ruby continued.   
  
They stood straight up.   
  
“Always beware of the Kurosawa family bloodline!” they shouted together.   
  
Ruby slammed the bottom of her staff on the sand, and flames erupted everywhere. Dia suddenly disappeared, but dozens of afterimages of herself appeared amidst the fire, shooting anything that moved. After hundreds of bangs, the horde caught in the blast turned to ash.   
  
And just like that, it was quiet. The remaining illusions disappeared.   
  
“We... we did it!” You wheezed.   
  
Ruby jumped in the air and cheered. Hanamaru was hugging her and jumping with her.   
  
Everyone was cheering and laughing.   
  
Except Chika.   
  
Chika stood blankly at the edge of the ocean.   
  
“Chika?”   
  
Yoshiko walked up to her. There was something different about her. An air of danger, almost. Then she looked at her face.   
  
Chika’s blue eyes bore into Yoshiko’s head.   
  
She ran away in the direction of the tunnel.   
  
“Wait, Chika!”   
  
Yoshiko gave chase, but Chika was incredibly fast. She lost sight of her instantly.   
  
“What the hell was that about?”   
  
She was about to chase her more until she saw a round ball in the sand next to the road.   
  
It was a barrier.   
  
Riko and Chika were still under it. More importantly, Chika was still unconcious.   
  
Hanamaru caught up. “Yoshiko-chan, what’s the matter, zura?”   
  
The rest of the girls walked up behind her.   
  
“Did...”   
  
Yoshiko thought she was going crazy.   
  
“Did anyone else see Chika fighting with us earlier?”   
  
“Yeah, I was standing next to her when we stopped fighting...” You’s voice trailed off when she saw Chika still unconscious.   
  
Chika began to stir. Riko looked as if she was about to collapse.   
  
When Chika opened her eyes, she saw a sea of confused faces.   
  
“What’s everybody looking at me all funny for?” she asked.   
  
“I... I thought I just saw you fighting with us,” Ruby squeaked. “You just woke up?”   
  
“Yeah, I’ve been out since the tunnel. Whaddya mean I was fighting with you?”   
  
Everyone’s faces were pale.   


* * *

“That was really dangerous, you know.”   
  
“Look, I just wanted to help out, okay?”   
  
“It’s nice you want to help out, Orange, but you need to learn how to dismiss your illusions quicker.”   
  
“Fiiine, but only because Blanc said it.”

* * *

 

“It took four of us and a group of nine girls to take care of that. They’re getting desperate.”  
  
“You worry too much, Clair.”  
  
“I think she’s right, Rose. We need to up our game.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mari yells lock on in strawberry trapper
> 
> you could not have paid me to miss this chance


	12. I Want To Light Up the Sky With Our Dreams

“Yohane-chan!”

Ruby ran down the hall and up to Yoshiko. It was the last day before summer break.

“How many times do I- wait, what?”

“Yohane-chan!” Ruby repeated. “Do you have some time later after school today?”

She did have some gaming to do, but she was more interested in what Ruby was going to do later. It was an added plus that for whatever reason, Ruby called her by her “actual” name.

“Fufu, of course. The fallen angel has more than enough time to spend with a mortal such as yourself. Where shall we go?”

“Well, I wanted to go to the cafe with you and Hanamaru-chan, but she said she was busy. Are you still interested?”

“Wait, Zuramaru’s not coming? I thought you two stuck together like glue.”

“Family stuff, she says.”

“Ah. Well, then I guess I have no choice than to accompany you to the cafe.”

* * *

The cafe was actually really nice, much to Yoshiko’s surprise. She made a mental note to come back later when she was around the area. There was just too many sweets here that she couldn’t get in just one trip.

“So, uh, about your hair...” Yoshiko commented.

Ruby took a bite into her ice cream. “Oh, you mean when it glows? My hair burns when I’m embarassed, scared, or-.”

She stopped herself.

“Or?”

“Nothing.”

Yoshiko shrugged it off. Too personal of a reason, probably.

“People say my hair is really warm too, but I don’t feel it.”

“Another trait passed down by royal blood. May I feel it?” Yoshiko asked.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Yoshiko stretched over to Ruby’s hair and rubbed one of her twintails. She felt warmth coming from the few strands of hair she grabbed.

“Wow. This is neat.”

Ruby sipped her soda. “Is it? I always thought it wasn’t that special.”

“Pyrros* normally don’t have warm hair. Some have normal heads of hair, other people’s hair are just burnt or actually on fire. I remember once in middle school a kid dared another kid to touch someone’s hair that was on fire.”

“Wow. That sounds scary.”

Yoshiko stabbed a piece of her strawberry shortcake. “I mean, you wouldn’t know much about being burnt.”

“Haha, I guess you’re right. One time I was cooking with Hanamaru, she almost went crazy when I stuck my hand in the oven to get the pan of cookies.”

“Heh. Lucky you.”

Yoshiko took a few more bites of her cake before remembering something. You and Riko said something about two women from the night of the fireworks festival. Yoshiko had heard of Umbrae using scythes, and even saw one once, but it was never common. As for the knives, that was something completely new to her.

“Yoshi- er, Yohane-chan? Whatcha thinking about?”

Ruby broke her focus. “Huh? Oh, my bad, I’m just thinking about something.”

“About what?”

Yoshiko remembered something from that night.

“You and Dia knew something about those two women, didn’t you?”

Ruby suddenly tensed up. “Wh- Huh?”

“I remember you and Dia said that you had a theory about those two women that You and Riko encountered during our last mission.”

“Oh. Uh, I can’t tell you anything about that, Yohane-chan. It’s a secret to me and Dia only.”

“C’mon, really? What’s so secret about it, anyway?”

“Sorry, can’t tell ya.”

Yoshiko sighed. It had to come to this, didn’t it?

“Ruby? Not even for me?” Often throughout her life, Yoshiko was told she had a very beautiful face. Sexy, some people called it. She never really used seduction as a tactic, but hey, it worked. She looked right at Ruby with alluring eyes, lifted eyebrows, and a pout.

Ruby started to blush. Her hair began to glow and steam started coming out of her head. She covered her face.

“Uh! Um!”

“Won’t you? Please?”

After a few seconds, Ruby slammed(not very hard) both of her hands on the table and gasped for air.

“I’m so sorry, Yohane-chan, but I really can’t tell you. Dia would kill me for it.”

Yoshiko swore under her breath. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

Ruby’s glow was starting to burn into Yoshiko’s eyes. Her entire body fidgeted and she looked very uncomfortable.

“Uh, Ruby? You okay?”

Ruby peeked through her hands. “Could we leave? Like, now?” she squeaked.

Yoshiko covered her eyes and took Ruby’s arm, leading her outside. She left the money for the food on the table.

“Don’t tell me. That last cause of your hair glowing is arousal, isn’t it?” Yoshiko asked.

Ruby nodded quickly. Her legs were shaking. She looked like she was about to collapse at any second.

“Y-Yohane-chan, can you carry me home? I c-can’t w-walk...”

Yoshiko moved in to pick her up princess style, but she hesitated.

“Hold on, there’s something I want to try,” she said.

“W-what?!”

She pointed her finger at Ruby and imagined a tight rope binding the two of them together. Something surged out of her finger and suddenly a black line was picking Ruby up in the air.

“Nice.”

“Y-Yohane-chan?!”

Ruby wobbled in midair. The force carrying her wasn’t very strong, she could feel gravity trying to pull her back down to the ground. A few seconds passed and she suddenly dropped.

“Pigyaaa!”

Yoshiko jumped forward and caught her in her arms.

“Wh-what did you just try to d-do?” Ruby asked. She was still glowing, and Yoshiko could feel her dangerously high body warmth.

“Something I’ve wanted to try out for a little while. I’ve seen a few Umbrae* pick up things using something called ‘Zero Energy.’ It’s this thing where they pick up faraway objects with a thin wire of magic. Looks like I still need to practice it.”

“N-now you’re just toying with me...”

Ruby sulked in Yoshiko’s arms.” Can I go home now?”

* * *

Some few days later, Dia arranged a meeting with the whole group of Aqours. Even though it was summer vacation, school gates were still open, which meant that they could meet in the clubroom.

“What’s up, Dia-san?” Chika asked as she walked through the door. She was the last one to arrive.

“You’re late,” Dia growled.

“She normally is,” You commented.

Dia glared at her.

“Anyway, all of you, take a seat.”

After everyone sat down, she unfolded a map of Uchiura on the table.

“I need to discuss with you all about the attack from last week. There were obviously very strange behaviors taking place that night.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Chika commented. “First of all, all of those monsters in the tunnel, none of those things were from Numazu! Or Uchiura!”

“She’s right,” Kanan said. “There’s been non-native monsters popping up all over the place since the beginning of the school year. And I’m pretty sure all of us are thinking the same thing. Why?”

“Well, we were told by that ice summoner that we shouldn’t know why,” Riko answered, “which by logic means that she knows.”

The third years looked rigid.

“But we don’t know where she is, zura.”

“Didn’t she say it was best for us not to know?” Ruby said. “That probably means it’s something super dangerous.”

“About her, by the way,” You mentioned. “Do we still not know anything about the two women from that night?”

Ruby glanced at her elder sister. “No, not really, no.”

“Wait, what? What are you guys talking about?” Chika asked.

The rest of Aqours filled her in.

“Huh. I feel like I’ve heard of them before. Or at least, people like them.”

“You know who they are?” Mari asked.

“No, just a hunch.”

Dia circled Awashima Island with a marker. “According to you three-“ she looked towards the first years, “the illusions came from here, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what it looked like, zura,” Hanamaru responded.

“Also, in case no one here knows,” Yoshiko interrupted, “the illusions that night were wearing black robes. Illusions are supposed to wear robes of their summoner’s attribute and fight with that attribute, but all of you clearly saw that there weren’t only Umbrae that night. We’re dealing with a big threat here.”

She left out the part where most of them targeted her. Nobody needed to know that.

“We also need to address the elephant in the room,” Mari added. “Chikacchi.”

“Wha? What about me?”

“We saw you fight like you never had that night before it all ended. Yet, we never actually saw you. I remember seeing a Chika with blue eyes. Your eyes are red.”

The whole room was drenched in tension.

“Yoshiko-san,” Dia growled.

“Yes?!” It took all of her willpower not to jump out of her seat from shock.

“You said illusions inherit the attribute of their summoner, correct?”

“Yeah, but what makes you so sure it was an illusion and not someone dressed up as Chika? It’s very possible.”

“No, it wasn’t a person, because I saw the illusion evaporate in front of me.”

Ruby tilted her head. “They do that?”

“When they’re dismissed, yes,” Yoshiko replied.

Dia turned her attention to the rest of the girls. “Did anyone notice any signs of any attribute at all when the illusion was fighting?”

Nobody responded. She swore under her breath.

“Add that to the pile of mysteries for now, I guess,” You suggested.

Yoshiko’s mind was racing. She was trying to figure out what all of this meant inside her head. If the illusion really didn’t fight with an attribute, that would mean a Lux with extremely powerful light magic was doing the work. It was great that someone that strong was on their side, but at the same time, it worried her. If the problem was this bad, they were going to have a problem. Yoshiko was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice Kanan talking.

“Since we have a lot of free time for the next couple weeks, Dia has devised a plan for us. We’re going to assume that monster attacks are going to become more frequent. For the summer break, we should work as groups of three to protect the town. Any questions?”

“Yeah, just one,” Riko said. “How are we going to know where we should go if we’re needed?”

Mari chuckled. “This is where I come in! I’ve set up a bulletin board next to the town’s cafe where people can report about recent monster attacks! If a member of your subunit sees a request, you go there! Doesn’t that sound _great_?”

The rest of Aqours nodded in agreement.

“How are we going to pick the groups?” Yoshiko asked.

“We’ve gone ahead and done that for you,” Dia said.

There seemed to be a hint of bitterness in her voice.

“By that, she means that we picked randomly who was going to go with who. If you can see here,” Kanan pointed at Dia’s face, “Dia did not get put in a subunit with Ruby.”

“Wh-what?!” Ruby cried out.

“Sorry Ruby, but we’ve decided on this.”

Ruby teared up, but she wiped them away immediately.

“Okay. If you say so, sis.”

Overall, nobody seemed upset by the arrangement. Chika, You, and Ruby were in a team together, which seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Dia was grouped with Kanan and Hanamaru, hopefully nothing went too awry for them.

When Yoshiko heard that Riko was going to be in her subunit, her heart skipped a beat. Then she realized that Mari was going to be in the same group.

“ _Hi_ , Yoshikocchi!”

“It’s Yohane, please!”

The three groups also had to create names for their subunit. Chika mispelled “Crayon” as “CYaRon,” but they just rolled with it. You said it sounded better anyway. Hanamaru suggested AZALEA, a flower with a calming agent. Dia seemed to like the name, and Kanan kinda just went with it.

“How about... _Chrom Cross_?” Mari suggested.

“Nah.” Yoshiko disagreed.

“ _Mystic Flower_?”

“Too generic.”

“What about _Lolic_? English for loli and gothic!”

“Why does everything have to be in English?” Riko asked.

Mari ignored the question. She was in too deep a thought to be interrupted.

After five straight minutes she snapped back up. Yoshiko could imagine the lightbulb go off above her head.

“Guilty Kiss! Howzzat?!”

“That’s...”

Yoshiko wished she could come up with a witty remark, because the name was way too good.

“It’s perfect...” she mumbled.

Yoshiko stood on her chair. “I see it now!”

“Oh, boy,” Riko sighed.

“The fallen angel’s foresight has told me all that I have needed to know! From this day onward, Yohane, Riri, and Mari shall be know as-!”

She struck a pose with Mari.

“GUILTY KISS!” they both shouted.

“Why is my name Riri now?” Riko whispered.

“Just roll with it, it’s a nice name,” Yoshiko whispered.

“Your chair is about to fall, by the way.”

“Wh-?”

The chair tipped over.

“AAAAUGH”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * there really arent plural words for classifications
> 
> woob is easily aroused
> 
> all of the names that maru suggested were possible names for guilty kiss
> 
> also keep your eyes open for some side stories revolved around subunits soon


	13. Side Story C1: Does the Night Sky Know All?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> I didn’t really want entire chapters to be devoted to just subunits, so I’m making side stories! These take place inbetween chapters, most likely after the last one.
> 
> Think of it as a half-chapter, if you will.
> 
> The letter before the chapter number indicates the subunit.
> 
> C: CYaRon!  
> A: AZALEA  
> G: Guilty Kiss
> 
> enjoy this one bc its kinda fluffy but also angsty
> 
> not really though?
> 
> i dont know how to write angst

CYaRon had just finished their last mission, a request to keep a few dozen wyverns at bay. Even though more and more strange monsters had been popping up all over Numazu, that didn’t keep their native ones from coming. Chika, You, and Ruby all did spectacularly.

The three of them were having a sleepover at Chika’s house. Chika had fallen asleep long ago, but Ruby and You were still up, chatting about random nonsense. Dia would text them every now and again to see if her “widdle sister” was okay.

“Hey, You-chan?”

“What’s up, Ruby-chan?”

Ruby shuffled uncomfortably in her futon. “I need to tell you something. This is a secret, okay? Don’t tell anyone!”

“Uh, okay.” You didn’t know why Ruby trusted her with this kind of information, but whatever.

“I...”

Ruby tripped over her words several times. Her hair began to glow a dim light.

“I..!”

“C’mon, Ruby-chan, spit it out.”

Ruby had to take in a deep breath to prevent herself from shouting.

“I have a crush on Hanamaru-chan!” Ruby whisper-yelled. She was panting.

“Oh.”

You kind of saw this coming. Ruby and Hanamaru were really close to each other. They were almost too close to be just friends. They fought together with almost perfect synergy, and it didn’t help that Hanamaru always put herself in front of danger for Ruby’s sake. But it turns out, that’s exactly what they were. Just friends. No matter how sugary sweet their conversations were, no matter how many times they hugged, it was just friendly interaction.

“But why are you telling me, though?”

“I needed to tell someone because I didn’t know how long I would last. Nobody knows, not even sis.”

That caught You off guard. “Wow, really? I assumed that Dia would know about this, considering how much she looks over you.”

Ruby shook her head. “No, she doesn’t. I want to confess to Maru-chan, but I have no idea when, or- or how! Help me, please!”

Chika mumbled something in her sleep. Something about mikans.

You wanted to end this conversation before Chika woke up and potentially made things awkward. “Personally, I would tell her straightout. She seems like a cute girl, you definitely should ask her out.”

“But when, though?”

“Maybe the next time you meet. I don’t know. Whatever works for you.”

“Thanks, You-chan.”

Ruby stifled a yawn.

“You should go to sleep, you know.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty late. Good night, You-chan.”

“Night, Ruby-chan.”

Ruby fell asleep immediately, probably five minutes after they finished talking. But You layed restless. That talk brought up old feelings. No matter how much she wanted to leave them behind, she couldn’t run away from the truth. Her chest began to hurt. Her heart beated faster. You was fidgeting uncomfortably.

They were also envious thoughts. They had only started recently, but she did not like them. She hated these feelings of jealousy. You didn’t want to put any bitterness on her friends, but it couldn’t be helped.

_Ah, crap. Here’s where the pain starts._

You’s anger began to fill up her emotions. The part of her mind that was still calm tried to put out the flames, but all she could do was feed it.

Riko was a nice girl. She was a very good person. But You had started to gain a dislike for her.

_Get these thoughts out of my head get these thoughts out of my head get these thoughts out of my head_

Just like Ruby did, she needed to get this off her chest. Hopefully she could do it in a more subtle way. No, she wasn’t going to talk to Riko. That would create even more bitter feelings, and not only within You. Talking to Chika was an immediate no.

She needed to talk to someone else.

Quickly, she whipped out her phone.

**00:43**

**yousoro7** : yoshiko

 **yousoro7** : i need to say something

 **Yohane** : how many times have i said that im yohane also what

 **yousoro7** : have i ever told you im gay

 **Yohane** : uh

 **Yohane** : no

 **Yohane** : what have you fallen in love with the great fallen angel yohane or something

 **yousoro7** : yeah

 **Yohane** : wAITWAIT WAIT WAITHOLD ON

 **yousoro7** : im kidding btw

 **Yohane** : ...

 **Yohane** : i hate you

 **Yohane** : dont toy with my emotions like that jfc

 **yousoro7** : hahahaaaaaa

 **yousoro7** : anyway i need you to do me a favor

 **Yohane** : if you dont pull something like that on me again fine

 **yousoro7** : have you noticed that chikachan and rikochan have been close recently

 **Yohane** : uh no not really

 **yousoro7** : its bothering me

 **Yohane** : you’re in love with chika arent you

 **yousoro7** : it was that easy, huh?

 **Yohane** : pretty much

_So much for being subtle._

**Yohane** : so what do you need me to do about it?

 **yousoro7** : you live next to rikochan don’t you?

 **Yohane** : yeah.

 **yousoro7** : could you make sure she isn’t interested in chikachan or anything

 **Yohane** : woah hold on you

 **Yohane** : im not the matchmaker around these parts

 **Yohane** : considering my garbage luck, you’d better try asking someone else

 **yousoro7** : you’re my closest friend aside from chikachan right now

 **yousoro7** : please? for the bros?

 **Yohane** : why are we bros

 **yousoro7** : i mean hey do you even realize how much the two of us screw around

 **yousoro7** : we might as well be bros

 **Yohane** : fiiiiiiine

 **Yohane** : but what do i do anyway

 **yousoro7** : just ask her if she likes anyone or something

 **Yohane** : wow how subtle

 **Yohane** : i love it

 **yousoro7** : you have a better idea?

 **Yohane** : no

 **Yohane** : afjsjdjkdkwkskdldlfkkfkf

 **yousoro7** : yoshikochan?

 **Yohane** : helppp guilty kiss is having a sleepover and marihs strangemlong sme

 **yousoro7** : ...

 **yousoro7** : good night yoshikochan

 **Yohane** : YOU SAVE ME I SWEAR TO GOD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooby wants maru  
> you wants chika  
> does riko want chika tho  
> what the hell is happening to yoshiko
> 
> find out sometime later
> 
> AZALEA will probably go up later this week. My mentality with these side stories is that I’ll upload inbetween chapters if I can.
> 
> I want to write about the summer groups too, so look out for those... soon, I guess.
> 
> i just want an excuse to write jimo ai


	14. Side Story A1: The Classification of a Throbbing Heart

“Maru!”

Kanan thrusted out her arm and a torrent of water surged out of her left hand, blasting the flaming monster away.

“You okay?” Kanan asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hanamaru panted.

AZALEA had been tasked with the mission to exterminate a group of hostile fire creatures that were gathering close to Numazu’s train station. For a few days almost nobody could come in or go out of Numazu via train. Everyone else was busy at the time, and it was an added bonus that Kanan was a Hydros.

Dia hung close to the other two girls. “Hanamaru-san.”

“Y-yes, Dia-san?”

“Do you know anything that provokes common Pyrros creatures?”

Despite Hanamaru’s seemingly timid nature, she had an overflowing knowledge of animals and monsters. The girls often asked her questions about the monsters they faced.

“Normally the only thing that causes Pyrros monsters to gather is extreme temperatures, zura. But that can’t be right, it’s too cold for them right now.”

“You kidding me? I’m sweating like a pig over here!” Kanan complained as she shot down a lion with a flaming mane.

“Pyrros monsters, especially these ones, have really high body temperatures. If it gets too cold, their bodies shut down and they die.”

“Then how come they’re here fighting us now?”

“They must be under an enchantment of some kind,” Dia explained. “But save your breaths, you’ll need them.”

Just then, a lion opened its maw and shot fire. Dia leapt up into the air and fired two shots at the lion, both of which hit the lion’s eyes, blinding it. It roared in agony and then charged blindly. Hanamaru created a magic wall, causing it to collide into the wall, dazing it. Hanamaru raised her arm and a pillar of psychic energy disintegrated the lion.

“Nice one!” Kanan shouted.

Dia stared up at the sky. A flaming bird the size of a truck stared back at her. Dia fired three shots at its wings, missing by a small margin. The bird dove in her direction and she dodged, flipping to the side.

“Pfft. Showoff,” Kanan mumbled.

With amazing strength, Dia slammed the bird down with her right gun and shot it several times but it wasn’t enough to bring it down. The bird spun up to its feet, sending flames everywhere and burning her in the process.

Kanan rushed towards her, shooting water wherever there was fire with her shotgun. She pointed her gun at the flaming bird, who was now struggling to stay airborne.

“Trying to escape, huh?”

She fired twice, extinguishing the monster and causing it to turn into ash.

Hanamaru quickly ran up to Dia’s side. “You okay, Dia-san?”

Dia looked slightly pinker than she did before. “I’m... fine. I could only wish I could be as fireproof as Ruby, but I can manage with this.”

“What do you mean, zura?”

Kanan ran up to the two of them. “Dia doesn’t have as much royal blood as Ruby does. I don’t really get it either.”

“What you will get, however,” Dia growled. “is how much danger we are in by standing around.”

Four monsters remained, angry and probably hungry. Two lions, a bird, and a big flaming skeleton. The skeleton held a sword and a shield. Kanan fired water from her free palm immediately and the skeleton raised its shield, blocking the water from its body.

Dia ran close to one of the lions and shot the ground instead of the lion itself. Crystals shot up from where she shot, impaling the lion on the spot. The next lion charged after her, but she backflipped, bicycle kicking it in the snout. The lion reeled back and pounced for another attack. Dia sidestepped and shot the lion straight in the heart, disintegrating it immediately.

Hanamaru stared up at the huge bird. She raised her hand and a psychic cube arose from her book. The bird dove for her, but missed when she rolled to the side. Hanamaru fired the cube and when it made contact with the bird’s body, it became trapped within a magic box. It trashed around and attempted to break it but the box didn’t crack. Hanamaru slowly closed her palm, causing the prison to slowly shrink, crushing the bird inside. It screeched right before it died and turned into dust.

The skeleton rattled its teeth and began to approach Kanan. It swiped its sword down and she intercepted the blow by swinging her gun. The burning warrior staggered, and Kanan fired a burst of water, sending it flying. The skeleton got up and tried to make one more attempt to attack. It never got the chance, as Kanan made a fist with her free hand and the skeleton was hovering in the air in a bubble of water, unable to move.

The three members of AZALEA looked at it. They aimed their attack, and fired. The result was a sparkling explosion.

“Good job everyone,” Dia said. “I’ll treat you two to some ice cream.”

Kanan grabbed her shoulder. “Dia, neither of us are Ruby-chan.”

Dia stood there with the most stunned expression on her face.

“It’s okay, zura. I wanted some ice cream, anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny how I wrote the least action for the members of AZALEA.
> 
> Things that I oretty much never mention:  
> Dia’s experienced in CQC  
> Kanan is actually supposed to have hydrokinesis as her power, it’s just that her shotgun is her main method of attack.
> 
> also yeah tokimeki has a really weird translation


	15. Side Story G1: Guilty Kiss, Guilty Night!

“This is stupid. Why did I agree to do this?” Yoshiko complained.

“To be honest, I’d be pretty okay to be where you are right now,” Riko said.

“Gee, that sure helps.”

Yoshiko was stuck in the deepest depths of Hell, stranded with no way out. She felt hot and wanted out before she perished. But this was also bliss. Maybe Heaven wasn’t so bad. It was soft, plushy, and smelled like lavender.

Mari was trying not to laugh.

Because she was hugging Yoshiko tightly. Mari was sitting on her bed with her arms enveloped around Yoshiko’s torso. Yoshiko tried to wiggle out a few times but all of her attempts ended in failure. Eventually she gave up and sat there looking absolutely ridiculous. Some time later she started to enjoy being hugged. Mari was warm and soft, like her bed. Yoshiko felt like she could sleep here.

Might as well, considering it was around eleven. A movie was playing on the T.V, but no one was paying much attention to it.

She started to drift into sleep, until Riko flicked her forhead.

“Ow! The hell was that for?”

Riko giggled, which honestly made Yoshiko want to melt, and sat down next to the two girls on the bed.

“Can we talk?” she whispered.

Yoshiko awkwardly shuffled to sit up, as straight as she could sit up, anyway.

“What’s up?”

Riko twisted her shirt. “I...”

Her phone buzzed. You was texting her.

“Hm? Who’s that?” Riko asked.

“It’s You. What does she want?”

** 00:43 **

**yousoro7** : yoshiko

**yousoro7** : i need to say something

**Yohane** : how many times have i said that im yohane also what

**yousoro7** : have i ever told you im gay

**Yohane** : uh

**Yohane** : no

**Yohane** : what you in love with me or something

**yousoro7** : yeah

Yoshiko nearly threw her phone across the room. Her face was bright red.

“What was that?” Riko asked.

“Nothing, nothing!” Yoshiko hissed.

**Yohane** : wAITWAIT WAIT WAITHOLD ON

**yousoro7** : im kidding btw

**Yohane** : ...

**Yohane** : i hate you

**Yohane** : dont toy with my emotions like that jfc

Yoshiko's expression looked like she just witnessed a bad joke.

**yousoro7** : hahahaaaaaa

**yousoro7** : anyway i need you to do me a favor

**Yohane** : if you dont pull something like that on me again fine

**yousoro7** : have you noticed that chikachan and rikochan have been close recently

Yoshiko took a glance at Riko.

“What?”

**Yohane** : uh no not really

**yousoro7** : its bothering me

**Yohane** : you’re in love with chika arent you

**yousoro7** : it was that easy, huh?

**Yohane** : pretty much

She could tell that subtlety was not You’s strong suit.

**Yohane** : so what do you need me to do about it?

**yousoro7** : you live next to rikochan don’t you?

**Yohane** : yeah.

**yousoro7** : could you make sure she isn’t interested in chikachan or anything

**Yohane** : woah hold on you

**Yohane** : im not the matchmaker around these parts

**Yohane** : considering my garbage luck, you’d better try asking someone else

**yousoro7** : you’re my closest friend aside from chikachan right now

**yousoro7** : please? for the bros?

**Yohane** : why are we bros

**yousoro7** : i mean hey do you even realize how much the two of us screw around

**yousoro7** : we might as well be bros

**Yohane** : fiiiiiiine

**Yohane** : but what do i do anyway

**yousoro7** : just ask her if she likes anyone or something

**Yohane** : wow how subtle

**Yohane** : i love it

**yousoro7** : you have a better idea?

**Yohane** : no

Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed her chest and another grabbed her phone.

**Yohane** : afjsjdjkdkwkskdldlfkkfkf

**yousoro7** : yoshikochan?

“Oh! Yoshiko, you’re soft!” Mari giggled.

“Mari! What the fuck- ah!”

She somehow pried her phone out of Mari’s hand.

**Yohane** : helppp guilty kiss is having a sleepover and marihs harassjng sme

**yousoro7** : ...

**yousoro7** : good night yoshikochan

**Yohane** : YOU SAVE ME I SWEAR TO GOD

You didn’t respond after that. Yoshiko threw her phone on the bed and attempted to wrestle herself out of Mari’s grip. The hand that was once holding the phone ended up on Yoshiko’s other breast.

“Stop th- nn!”

“Wow, Yoshiko-cchi, you’re really sensitive.”

“RIKO HELP.”

Riko woke from her dazed state and attempted to break Mari’s iron grip on Yoshiko. After about five minutes of screaming, swearing, and Yoshiko’s frequent moans, Yoshiko was finally let free, with varying levels of success. Varying because Riko fell off the bed trying to save Yoshiko, and the hostage ended up falling on top of her.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, Lily!”

Mari was laughing her head off. Like, she was howling. It was too funny to her. Tears were forming from laughter.

“Oh my God, you two are so dumb!”

“I think... I’m traumatized...” Yoshiko panted.

* * *

There was only one bed in Mari’s room, so Riko and Yoshiko slept in a separate room. It was almost 2 in the morning. Riko was fidding around with magic. Recently she had been taking an interest in magic that didn’t involve weaponry.

“Hey, Yoshiko-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“Two things.”

“Shoot.”

“I was going to tell you something before You-chan texted you.”

Yoshiko had completely forgotten about that.

“Uh, yeah, you did. What were you going to say?”

Riko hesitated. “Do you think... Chika and I are a thing?”

Yoshiko nearly fell off her bed. “What?!”

“People, especially the other second years, have been asking me if Chika and I were dating. I was wondering if you felt the same way as everyone else.”

“Well, my first response is, what do YOU think you two are?”

Riko shook her head. “I... I honestly have no clue.”

Alarms went off in Yoshiko’s head. Not only because of You, but because of herself as well.

“Like, we fight so well together, it’s like we share the same thoughts. We always end up together during practice, and she’s always sparring with me.”

Yoshiko found it hard to control herself.

“Chika-chan is... how do I put it? She’s an absolute dork. She’s silly, she’s strong, stronger than I will ever be, and she’s just... a nice person.”

Yoshiko sighed. “So, to repeat my question. What are you two?”

“Just friends, I suppose. I think that’s how she views me, anyway.”

“Why’s that?”

“Do you realize how dense that girl is? She has a skull thicker than concrete!”

That took a little bit to sink in.

“Shit, you’re right.”

“I don’t think she’ll take a confession seriously. Anyway, the other thing I was going to ask you was, what was that text about?”

“You dared me to ask you if you liked anyone. Simple as that.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” Yoshiko crossed her legs. “I was wondering too.”

“Wait, why were you wondering?”

Yoshiko took a very sudden interest in her feet. “Just wanted to know, that’s all. It’s high school, isn’t this kind of talk normal?”

Riko gave her a very matter of fact look. “Well, no one as of right now.”

“So, not Chika is what you’re saying.”

“I guess not...”

Yoshiko felt like she could finally relax. But she couldn’t really know if Riko liked anyone. She knew that nobody would answer seriously to a question like that.

“Well, Lily,” she yawned. ”this has been fun and all, but I need sleep. It’s two in the morning and I’m expecting Mari to pull a fast one on me and do something stupid, bur I’m sleeping. Night.”

“Where did the name ‘Lily’ come from, anyway?”

“It’s just a nice name. It suits you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aikoso subete, GUILTY KISS!
> 
> oh you, you and your fuckery  
> I made Mari an absolute dork in this fic, and it’s so much fun to write.


	16. These Are Our Thoughts, Together As One

**kankan** : BIG NEWS

 **kankan** : LIKE HOLY SHIT THIS IS HUGE

 **SakuraRi** : what’s the matter?

kankan shared a link

 **kankan** : WEVE BEEN INVITED TO A JAPANWIDE COMPETITION FOR ELEMENTALIST GROUPS

 **kankan** : THE WINNER GETS RECOGNIZED AS A NATIONAL GROUP

 **ganba!ruby!** : wait, really???

 **ganba!ruby!** : hold on...

 **ganba!ruby!** : whats the name of it?

 **kankan** : er, i think it was love live?

 **ganba!ruby!** : sis just dropped her phone and screamed.

 **Yohane** : uh, is she going to be okay?

 **KurosawaDia** : LOVE LIVE WAS THE SAME COMPETITION THAT μ’s COMPETED IN

 **Yohane** : i see

 **kankan** : oh i didnt know that but i was excited that we can finally get recognition outside of numazu

 **S H I N Y** : dia’s gonna punch u lol

 **kankan** : what? why?

 **Kanan** : you know how crazy she is for u’s

 **Kanan** : she will actually track you down and kill your family

 **ganba!ruby!** : TOO FAR TOO FAR

 **KurosawaDia** : No, I will not track you down and kill your family. On a related note, if we’re entered into Love Live, we need to have a training camp.

 **SakuraRi** : What?

 **KurosawaDia** : You read that correctly. A training camp.

 **kankanmikan** : for love live?

 **kankanmikan** : thatd be nice and all but um i have to help out the community snack shop for a few days its near my house

 **yousoro7** : yeah yeah me too

 **Kanan** : same

 **yousoro7** : we’re not trying to be lazy or anything like that

 **Yohane** : i got some major video gaming to do so i cant

 **KurosawaDia** : You all will need to attend. This is an all Aqours event.

 **ganba!ruby!** : cmon guys! it’ll be fun! we will need the training too! love live is a big deal!

 **Tanuki** : Yeah zura! I want to go too!

 **S H I N Y** : catch me flying away on my heli lol

 **KurosawaDia** : You’re coming too.

 **S H I N Y** : booooooo

 **KurosawaDia** : We can arrange the time for when we can run the snack bar. We will still be training on those days.

 **yousoro7** : god dammit

 **kankan** : fuq

 **KurosawaDia** : As for the video games, Yoshiko-san, that is not an excuse.

 **Yohane** : ITS YOHANE ITS LITERALLY IN MY NAME

 

 **SakuraRi** : please stop teasing her

 **yousoro7** : when is love live anyway

 **kankan** : august 20th, next friday

 **yousoro7** : shit then yeah we really do need to go

 **SakuraRi** : um, about next friday...

 **kankan** : what?

 **SakuraRi** : nvm

* * *

The beach was a very fun time. Yoshiko may have gotten decked in the face by a beach ball a few times,(courtesy of Mari) but it was fun nonetheless. She also needed an excuse to try out her new jet black swimsuit.

When it was time for the snack bar to open, Dia had already planned everything out. Chika and Riko were dressed in boxes advertising the place.

“I’d be lying if I said you didn’t look funny,” Yoshiko whispered to Riko.

“Shut up.”

“In order to win Love Live, we will need to gain some excitement for our cause. I heard that the bar next door outsold us last year, so I believe that with all of our efforts, we will become its saviors!”

“Any reason why Dia’s so worked up like that?” Yoshiko asked Ruby.

“Let’s just say there’s a lot of history behind it.”

Dia marched up to Kanan and thrusted a pack of fliers into her arms. “Okay, Kanan-san!”

“Wha?”

“You will help hand out these fliers and tell the world who we are!” she shouted.

“Uhh, kay.”

“Use that amazing figure of yours to attract everyone here! No man can resist the alluring features of a woman! You show those scrubs what we can really do!”

Dia was swooning.

“Your face is scaring me.”

Mari ran up to Kanan and tackled her to the ground.

“That’s my lover you’re flirting with, Dia!”

“Mari! Get off!”

You leaned over to Yoshiko. “Please don’t tell me she actually used the word ‘scrubs.’”

“I was hoping you would know.”

Mari, You, and Yoshiko were all told to meet inside the snack bar. It was less than stellar. A fat kitty in the corner meowed. Yoshiko had to fight off the temptation to run off and play with it.

“Mari-san, You-san, Yoshiko-san.”

“Yohane!”

“You three will be cooking food for the bar.”

“Huh?” You said.

“You will need to get creative and make some food that captures the heart and soul of this town! Food so great that anyone will be entranced by it! Understand?”

“Yes ma’am!” the three of them shouted.

The three of them got to work. Yoshiko didn’t really cook anything else than her favorite snack, but she decided to go with it anyway.

“Hopefully someone will be crazy enough to like these,” she muttered under her breath.

She absolutely loved takoyaki. So much so that she combined her two favorite things to make what is often her meals: takoyaki and tabasco sauce. Yoshiko called this “Tears of a Fallen Angel.” She may have been labelled as a masochist when she said she liked the burning sensation in her mouth, but hey, who’s counting?

You was running around making yakisoba. Yoshiko could smell the sauce she was making from her part of the kitchen, and holy crap it made her hungry.

“Uh, hey dude, whatcha making?” Yoshiko asked.

“This is my pride and joy! Actually it’s just omurice but instead of rice I put yakisoba under it instead. I call it ‘Youkisoba.’”

“Youki- what.”

“Yeah! Youkisoba!”

“I was gonna ask if I could have a plate but that pun killed my appetite.”

“Fine. Your loss.”

“I was kidding, I was kidding! Could I get some?”

You handed her the one in her hands. “Here. You could have the one I made just now. We won’t be having customers for another ten minutes, so I can spare giving one to you.”

Mari was in the corner, mumbling to herself. She was stirring ingredients in large pot. It didn’t look like cooking so much as it looked like she was making a witches’ brew.

You pointed at the mess of food in the pot. “What is that?”

Mari laughed. “ _Perfect_! This is what I call my Stewshine!”

You and Yoshiko gave each other fleeting looks.

* * *

Closing time had come, which meant it would be the start of training. The evening sun shimmered against the horizon.

“Alright, girls. Our time to train has finally come,” Dia said. “It has been a long time since we last sparred, so how about it?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Perfect. Choose your opponents and fight whenever you’re ready.”

Chika immediately grabbed Riko’s arm and ran outside to the beach.

“Welp. I wanted to go against Chika, it’s been a long time since I did that, but I guess not,” You mumbled.

“You up for a round?” Yoshiko asked.

“You up for another loss?”

“Not cool.”

“Bro, I’m just tryna get you fired up. Get your game on, Yoshiko-chan.”

She ran out the door. Yoshiko chased her, screaming, “It’s Yohane!”

They chose a spot not too far from the bar, but not too close to the shore. The two of them stood a few dozen feet away from each other. You’s whip glowed blue in the evening sunlight.

“Loser buys soda?” she offered

“Loser buys soda.”

Yoshiko could see Chika and Riko dueling in the distance. Both of them had definitely gotten better at fighting.

“Whatcha staring at?”

You walked over to Yoshiko and saw what she was watching.

“Huh. Did you find out if Riko likes her, by the way?” she asked.

“No.” Yoshiko shook her head. “Well, kinda. I asked her straightout if she liked anyone and her answer was no, but really who knows when someone says that.”

“So basically your answer is, you don’t know.”

“More or less.”

They watched for a little longer. Riko was putting on some pressure on Chika. She blocked every strike while also moving forward, looking for her chance to counter.

“You have anyone you like, Yoshiko-chan?”

“Whuh?”

“You heard me. Who do you like?”

“Uh...”

You smirked. “If you say me, I’d totally take you out.”

Yoshiko blushed. “P-please stop...”

“No, I’m being serious! Dude, you’re really cool! You’re an amazing person and I think you deserve me.”

“You... I...”

“You think I’m pranking you or something?”

“No, it’s just...”

“What’s wrong?”

Yoshiko looked around. She signaled You to come closer. You stepped up and Yoshiko pulled her into a tight embrace.

“You’re cool and all,” Yoshiko mumbled. “but I know you’re trying to chase Chika and I don’t want to ruin it for you. As for me, well... I love Riko.”

You backed up. “No way!”

Yoshiko nodded slowy.

“Alright, we need a plan to make sure you get that girl.”

“Wait, what?”

“It’s perfect! You get Riko-chan and I get Chika-chan! Think about it!”

“You, I don’t know about this.”

“If we screw it up somehow, we can go out with each other! You in or not?”

You stuck out her hand. After a good ten seconds, Yoshiko took it.

“Fine. But we need to spar first.”

“Oh, crap, yeah. Completely forgot about that.”

* * *

The girls were sitting in the snack bar, hungry after their rigorous training. The issue was that the only person that actually completed the regimen was Kanan. Dia had made it too hard without knowing. Everyone was exhausted.

“So what’s for dinner? I’m _hungry_!” Mari chuckled.

“We have a lot of leftovers,” You said. “We could eat that.”

Chika looked back at her inn. “We have to; Mito doesn’t want us to cause any noise.”

“Mito?” Hanamaru asked.

“One of my older sisters.”

Everyone walked in the bar to see that a large portion of Stewshine and Tears of a Fallen Angel had been left untouched on a table.

“What are all those still doing here?” Riko asked.

Mari and Yoshiko sulked. “Both of them flopped,” Yoshiko grumbled.

“Oh, come on, I’m sure they can’t be that bad,” Ruby reassured.

Once everyone settled down, Chika was the first one to take a bite out of the Stewshine. Everyone watched her with baited breath.

“This is...”

She took another bite. “Really good, actually! Mari-chan, what’s in this?”

Mari’s somber look suddenly turned into a smug grin as she marched up to a collection of ingredients that nobody seemed to notice earlier that day. There was a large collection of crawfish, fish, sealife, and even an entire starfish.

“My Stewshine is made with the most very _fresh_ ingredients from around the world! I take pride in making it every time!”

Somehow in the time between when she started talking and when she finished talking, Hanamaru already finished her first bowl. “Seconds, please!”

“Then how did it not sell?” Dia asked.

“That’s... a good question.”

Kanan sighed and got up to pick up their menu. “Would you buy this?”

She pointed at the price of the Stewshine. It sat at a mighty price of a hundred thousand yen.

Three of the nine girls sitting there did a spit take. “How much do you think people have to spend on food?!” You exclaimed.

“Hm? Is a hundred thousand too much?” Mari asked obliviously.

“YES,” everyone said simultaneously.

”Rich people are crazy,” Kanan muttered.

Ruby looked at the takoyaki. “Hahaha! I wonder what these taste like...”

She reached for one and put it in her mouth without realizing Yoshiko’s screams of “don’ts.”

She waited for her to burst out screaming.

Nothing happened.

“This is really good, Yohane-chan!” Ruby said.

Yoshiko was absolutey stunned. “Wh-. Huh? What?!”

It clicked in her head.

“Being fireproof transcends to immunity to spicy food, doesn’t it?”

“Hm? This is supposed to be spicy?” Ruby asked.

“... I’ll take that as a yes.”

“What exactly did you put in that?” Dia asked cautiously.

“A crapton of tobasco sauce,” Yoshiko said with a straight face.

Everyone, save Mari and Ruby, looked at her with the craziest face, as if she was a monster.

“Look, it’s the only thing I can make, alright?”

You looked like she was about to freak. “Why the hell didn’t you just make normal takoyaki, then?!”

* * *

All nine girls were cramped into Chika’s room, which was surprisingly spacious. Everyone slept in their own futon, except the Kurosawa sisters because Ruby apparently needed to sleep with her sister, and Kanan and Mari, who slept together.

There were only a few moaning noises that night.

Yoshiko brought her ridiculously big shark hammock and slept in that.

* * *

Something was poking her cheek. Yoshiko tried to shift her face so that it would stop. Something still poked her cheek. She move again. After the fourth time she played this game, Yoshiko pried her eyes open.

“Hey, Yoshiko-chan?”

“Chika? What’s wrong?”

“Come outside with me.”

The two of them walked outside to the beach. A few wyverns were flying above them, but it was too early for hunting hours. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Stars sparkled in the midnight sky.

“Why did you wake me up so early?” Yoshiko yawned.

“There’s something up with Riko-chan.”

Yoshiko’s eyes widened. “What? What’s going on?”

Chika took out her phone and showed her what looked like a form for a competition. “Look at this.”

There was a piano recital in Tokyo next week. Next Friday. August 20th.

“No way.”

“Yeah, it’s freaking me out too. I overheard her mom talking about it with my sister when she was over.”

Yoshiko looked back at the inn. “Do you think she’ll go?”

“Personally? I don’t think so. You know how much fun she’s been having with us? How much fun she’s had fighting with us? Today especially, I haven’t seen Riko-chan smile this much since ever.”

“That’s true... but...”

“But what?”

“Riko’s been playing the piano recently. I don’t think she knows I’ve been listening.”

“Wait, what? How do you know this?”

“Our apartments are next to each other. Our rooms are separated by literally one wall. For the last two weeks I’ve been hearing her play the piano. It sounds... forced.”

“What do you mean by forced?”

“I recorded her playing a little while ago as a momento, don’t look too much into that. Something felt really off when she played it.”

Yoshiko ran back inside the inn to grab her phone. Five minutes later she returned with a video recording on it.

“Take a listen.”

At first, the video showed a black wall. Silence. Then a few seconds later, sounds of the piano began to flow. The music Riko played sounded perfectly fine to Chika. To Yoshiko though, it sounded worrying.

“I don’t see what’s so wrong about it,” Chika commented.

“No, listen... here.”

Yoshiko skipped a few seconds ahead. Suddenly, the notes sounded hard and abrupt. Nothing flowed correctly. There would be a screw up here and there. It didn’t take a genius to notice that Riko was clearly frustrated. The song began to sound louder and louder until it all stopped.

“Woah.”

“Yeah. I don’t know if she’s trying to improve or what, but it doesn’t sound good. I think she’s trying to get better at the song, but she doesn’t want to at the same time.”

“Weird.”

The two of them stood on the beach in thought.

“We should talk to her,” Chika suggested.

“You do it.”

“No. I’m not close enough to Riko-chan for me to say anything. Hell, I barely even know her. I know that I’m always dragging her around and I know that I’m always training with her, but the truth is, I know I’m insignificant.”

“Wait, what? Where did this come from?”

“I... Crap. Forget I said anything.”

“No, no no. Go on. What are you saying?”

Chika sighed. “Riko-chan was the first person that really grabbed my attention after I began this whole elementalist group thing. I know I had You-chan and that I could be perfectly okay with her, but then you two joined. You know how much I idolize μ’s and all, and you of all people should know that Lux’s are rare around Numazu.”

“Yeah. Riko was the first one I’ve seen in a long time.”

“So, when I saw her attribute, it sparked something within me. I’ve told you before that the leader of μ’s, Kousaka Honoka, was a Lux. I absolutely adore her. So when I see Riko-chan, I can’t help but see Honoka-san within her, y’know?”

“You’re correlating and you can’t help it.”

“Yeah. I want to follow Riko’s footsteps and just, you know, be really close to her. She’s what I use to cope with my... normalness.”

Chika started to cry. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “It hurts, you know. I don’t know Riko-chan at all. I don’t know what she likes, I don’t know where she lives, I don’t even know what the fuck she does for a hobby. I’m just following someone for the sake of following someone!”

“Chika. Chika. Calm. Down,” Yoshiko said. “Breathe.”

Chika took several deep breaths. She attempted to control her sobs.

“Sorry for... ranting to you about that,” Chika mumbled. “I just really needed to tell someone.”

“Why didn’t you tell You?”

Chika sniffed. “If I told You-chan, she’d worry. Like, a lot. You-chan protects me way too much. She was the one that defended me when all of those elementary school and junior high kids would bully me for not having an attribute. She always saved me when I was in trouble. I heard that she was the one that tried to protect me immediately during the fiasco in the tunnel back in the firework festival.”

“You really like her, huh?”

“Yeah. I owe her a lot. So could you be the one to talk to Riko-chan for me?”

“...”

“Please, I need you to do it. I don’t know anyone closer to Riko-chan. None of the other first or third years even talk to her. I know Mari-chan does, but that’s only on occasion. You’re the girl that she talks to the most. C’mon, Yoshiko-chan.”

“...”

“Please?”

“I’ll do it.”

Chika looked as if a weight had been taken off her shoulders. “Thank you so much.”

The two of them returned to the inn. Before they went inside Chika’s room, she said something.

“I’m sorry for ranting to you, by the way. I couldn’t tell You because... I’m scared to.”

* * *

Business ran as usual the next day. Once again, nobody bought the Stewshine nor the Tears of a Fallen Angel, despite their changes. Mari bumped down the price to five thousand yen, but that was still too much. Yoshiko attempted to cut back on the tabasco, yet it was still too spicy for people to buy.

“UGHHHH,” the two of them groaned after the store closed.

“Flopped again, huh,” You commented.

Of course, her food sold like hotcakes. You seemed to be the only person who knew how to price her food at a sane level and cook properly at the same time.

This time, dinner came with a twist.

“Don’t worry guys, I made sure the takoyaki’s actually edible this time,” You announced, playfully glaring at Yoshiko.

“Screw you.”

The Stewshine and the Tears of a Fallen Angel were strewn up along with some rice and curry on the side.

“Is this safe to eat?” Riko asked.

“It is, smart alec. Now eat up before it gets cold!”

Riko took a spoonful of food and cautiously put it in her mouth. Her suspicion turned into bliss two seconds later.

“Yup. Definitely edible.”

“Idiot.”

Turns out You had used her dad’s secret technique to turn pretty much anything into good food. Or so she claimed.

Chika elbowed Yoshiko’s side. “We have another day until we close up the bar. You going to ask her?”

“I’m doing it tonight, shut up.”

“Kay.”

* * *

“Lily.”

No response.

“Lily.”

No response again.

“Lily!”

Riko opened her eyes. “Yoshiko-chan?”

“Come. I want to tell you something.”

“A-Alright.”

The two of them walked outside. Yoshiko turned around and faced Riko.

“So.”

“So?”

“The piano.”

“What?!” Riko stepped back.

“I’ve been listening to you play for the last two weeks. You’re faltering.”

“Wh- You’ve been listening?!”

“Lily. Our rooms are separated by one wall. Unless you have a keyboard and headphones, there is no way I wouldn’t be able to hear it.”

“Okay. But what about me playing?”

“Chika told me there’s a recital. Next Friday.”

Riko froze. “How did she-?”

“Something about your mom. That’s not the important thing, though. The important thing is that I need to know if you’re going or not.”

Riko responded almost immediately. “No. I’m not going.”

“You say that, but you’ve been practicing for two weeks. I could understand if it were a day, two, or three, but two weeks, Lily? I know you want to go. I know you’re reluctant. I know you want to go with us to Love Live. But personally, if you’re struggling this hard for something you’re not planning on doing, that’s super suspicious to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

Riko looked away. “I’d rather you not pry.”

“Lily, I have to pry. This is imprtant to us. Important to me. Especially to you.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“I’ve noticed something, Lily.”

Yoshiko waved her hand. Suddenly, a black-as-night shortsword appeared in her hand. It was no longer than her forearm.

“Your reason for your novice magic was because of that recital, wasn’t it?”

“What?”

“Lily. I’ve chatted with your mom before. She told me what happened last time. You stopped before you even started the piece. Come on.”

“...”

“I put two and two together and figured it out. You hated yourself after that, didn’t you? You stopped everything. Piano, magic, combat, everything. Your mom told me you shut yourself in your room for weeks.”

“Yoshiko. Stop.”

“I won’t stop! I need a legitimate answer from you! I need to know if you really will come with us.”

“... Well what do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to play the song for me. Now. We’re going home.”

“But, the buses aren’t running, do you know how long it’ll take for us to get home?”

“That’s why I’m asking you to do something absolutely bonkers with me. You remember how to use that trap magic I taught you?”

* * *

  _Two weeks prior..._

“Picture, a box.”

“A box?”

The two girls were in Riko’s room practicing magic. Yoshiko was apparently teaching her a kind of trapping spell for emergency purposes.

“Just imagine a hollow box in front of you, right on top of your rug.”

“Alright...”

Riko closed her eyes.

“You know how this works. Summoning should be easy for you.”

“Yeah, but that’s always been a spear. This is a box, the volume is a lot larger-.”

“Hush. Focus on the box and focus on making it appear in front of you.”

Yoshiko shifted over to where she had directed Riko to summon the box. Suddenly, a cube made of golden light trapped her inside itself.

“Did it work?” Riko asked.

“Yep. And perfectly too.”

Riko opened her eyes. “Yoshiko-chan! What are you doing?”

“Testing to see if this thing works.”

A sword appeared in her hand.

“When did you begin to do that?” Riko asked, pointing at the sword.

“Recently I’ve noticed that I rely too much on ranged combat. I’m not the best at hand to hand combat, so I’m taking up swordplay for a little while. Now, stand back.”

Riko backed away onto her bed. Her spear was guarding her.

Yoshiko stabbed at her prison, but instead of it shattering, her sword broke into a million pieces as soon as it touched the light.

“Perfect!”

* * *

 “Yeah, I do. Why?”

Yoshiko grabbed Riko’s shoulders. “I’m going to fly us home.”

“What?! Yoshiko-chan, you can’t be serious! You know you can’t control yourself!”

“It’ll be different. I promise. As soon as I land us on your balcony, you need to use that trapping magic to contain me. Then do whatever you can in your power to knock me unconcious. We’ll talk once you wake me up.”

“Yoshiko-chan, this is insane! You’re assuming that you can fly us there to begin with!”

“Lily! Trust. Me.”

Riko took a deep breath. “Okay.”

Yoshiko turned around. “You ready?”

“Sure.”

Yoshiko closed her eyes. Her heartbeat slowed. The star on her palm began to glow. A pain began to form in her gut.

_I’m glad I at least can control how I do this now. My only issue is turning back._

Yoshiko arced over. Her head began to hurt immensely. A black glow formed around her body.

_I noticed something. The first time I did this, I was told that I saved Lily from wyverns. I protected her. If that mentality stayed, I won’t hurt her. My only issue is taking over._

Yoshiko screamed and a black force exploded within her. Her giant black wings erupted from her back. Red eyes replaced her pink ones. Yohane had once again walked the earth.

The first thing she did was...

Pick Riko up.

“Yoshiko-chan?!”

_Protect... Lily..._

Yoshiko stumbled, but she quickly regained balance. With one flap of her wings, she and Riko went airborne.

Riko had never experienced flying before, but for the first minute, she was terrified. The height below her was dizzying and the wind blowing against her was cold. The occasional sting came from Yoshiko’s powerful aura. But after she got used to it, she loved it.

The sky was clear, showing the bright moon and the shining stars around them. They could see the school from here. Yoshiko raced to Numazu. Slow, powerful flaps of her wings boosted them forward each time. Given previous experiences, Riko expected more screaming in agony, but Yoshiko was surprisingly quiet.

_Home..._

Their apartment building had come into view. Yoshiko stopped in front of it, seemingly lost.

“Yoshiko-chan?” Riko whispered.

Yoshiko seemed to hear her. Slowly, she flew over to Riko’s balcony and set her down.

Riko looked at Yoshiko’s eyes. Devilish, sadistic, evil, red eyes looked back. Yet, Riko noticed something. It almost looked like there was longing in that stare. A sense of need.

“L-love...” she managed to mumble.

Yoshiko’s body gave off another storm of dark energy and she collapsed. Her wings disappeared and the aura around her dissipated.

“What the hell was that?” Riko asked herself.

* * *

“Ugh...”

“You’re awake.”

Yoshiko somehow gathered the energy to sit up. It took her a few seconds to notice where she was laying down.

The smell of lilies overpowered her and Yoshiko nearly leaned in for a hug. She was sitting on Riko’s bed.

“Well, I guess we’re here,” she announced.

“Yoshiko-chan, are you okay?”

“Hm? What happened?”

Riko told her everything that unfolded. Or, the lack of things that went wrong.

“You did nothing.”

“What?!” Yoshiko shreiked.

“Shh! It’s still late! You stared at me and then you collapsed.”

Yoshiko also noticed that she felt better than she did all of the other times she awoke from transforming. She felt as if she just woke up from a dream, and that was it. No pain, no headache, nothing. Just slight drowsiness.

“You, didn’t heal me inbetween the time I went out and the time I woke up, did you?”

“No, I didn’t,” Riko answered, frowning.

“The hell happened then?”

If the answer was the power of love, I’m throwing myself off the balcony.

“Well, you risked our lives for a reason, didn’t you?” Riko asked.

Yoshiko almost forgot why they were here.

“Yeah, I did. Play the song for me.”

She expected the same entanglement of notes from when she recorded the song, but it didn’t happen. Riko managed to play the song correctly. It flowed percectly well, notes were played with the correct dynamics, and she actually ended the song this time.

Yoshiko clapped softly. “Beautiful. You’ve been improving.”

Riko was sweating. “Y-yeah, of course I have, but-.”

“There’s no buts. I want you to go to that recital. You love the piano as much as you love all of us. Come on.”

Riko held still. Suddenly she walked up to Yoshiko and pulled her into a hug. “You’re... you’re so stupid...”

She was crying. Yoshiko wanted to cry too. Once they separated, Riko kept her hold on Yoshiko’s hands.

“Can I tell you something, Yocchan?”

“What’s up, Lily?”

“I love you.”

* * *

 Yoshiko barely slept that night. She had to sleep in Riko’s bed because she locked her own window earlier, but she had no reason to complain. Riko held her for the entire night.

“Hey, Lily?”

“Yeah?”

“Could I get a kiss?”

“Yocchan, wh-?!”

“Please?”

It was quick, but Riko gave her a quick peck on the lips. That second felt like an eternity to Yoshiko and she wanted it to last forever.

“There. Now go to bed, okay?”

Both of their faces were scarlet red.

“Thanks, Lily. I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOHA RIKO YOHA RIKO YOHA RIKO YOHA RIKO
> 
> would you believe me when i say this is the first time i wrote angst lol
> 
> It took me until now to notice how much Chika is like Izuku Midoriya. Go me.
> 
> I realize that Love Live isn’t as important as it is in the anime, but hey when your world is as dangerous as it is in here, you’d have other things to worry about to. Love Live is on a smaller scale here, since not everyone has the time to risk their lives. Also I want to use the excuse that Tokyo is a large city where not a lot of monsters can really walk around.
> 
> I also want to take this time to showcase how little fantasy elements there have been as of late. One pet peeve I’ve always had with fantasy/modern fantasy is that there isn’t enough... how do I put it, normalcy in it. Whenever you read/see fantasy or modern fantasy, a lot of the time spent is on the fantasy elements of the world. World building, action, and all that. This is why I’m a BIG fan of character interaction. Episode 10 of Sunshine, aka this one lol, gave me a perfect reason to do this. The entirety of episode 10 is just the girls enjoying themselves at the beach, along with some ChikaRiko.
> 
> I threw in about two or three AU elements plus Chika’s rant and that ending and called it a day. Last chapter I literally only made Yoshiko and Ruby go on a date and gave you readers a few mysteries to solve. Yet both of them are filled with the girls chatting with each other and being idiots.
> 
> Just wanted to clear up why there hasn’t been a lot of action lately. i hope you enjoyed my rant


	17. Future TICKET

20:59   
  
**Tanuki** : Remind me what love live is again   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Ruby, care to do the honors?   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : on it!   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : love live is an annual nationwide competition that takes place in tokyo every year   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : it used to be biannual but they figured that it wasnt really that much time for competitors to train for the event   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : it started five years ago and i still remember when sis freaked the heck out when she heard it   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Ruby.   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : uhoh   
  
**Kanan** : i was there for that   
  
**Kanan** : my ears were not prepared   
  
**S H I N Y** : i can still hear the screaming   
  
**yousoro7** : diasan? screaming? its more likely than you think   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Ruby. Continue.   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : ah, ok!   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : its a week long tournament where elementalist groups fight against each other in an arena   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : at first there were diffrrent environments for the arenas but then the judges realized that was kinda unfair   
  
**Yohane** : because people with certain elements would take advantage of the terrain right   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : yup! the fight area is just like a blank square now   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : its also no holds barred which means that any and all force is allowed   
  
**kankan** : wait, what?   
  
**kankan** : wouldnt people die then?   
  
**KurosawaDia** : A good amount of the staff that runs Love Live is Mentis, and it’s said that most of them know a special incantation that creates a bubble in a specific area. Inside the bubble, fighters cannot be maimed, severed, or killed.   
  
**Yohane** : that’s... interesting   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Indeed. Once fighters are deemed “dead,” they are warped out of the bubble and are perfectly healthy.   
  
**yousoro7** : this seems a little too good to be true   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Trust me. It’s foolproof.   
  
**Tanuki** : Oh I’ve heard of that before   
  
**Tanuki** : Its a spell in my book zura   
  
**SakuraRi** : wait, if it’s a spell in your book, how come we’ve never seen it before?   
  
**Tanuki** : The spell is really strong zura. Im not powerful enough for it   
  
**yousoro7** : one issue though   
  
**yousoro7** : we have eight members participating   
  
**yousoro7** : are they gonna let all eight of us go against a single team?   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : no they wont. teams go against each other with four or less members each   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : if there’s a team with more than four members, they’re supposed to rotate for each match.   
  
**kankan** : i guess that makes sense   
  
**kankan** : it’s a good thing that the third years came up with the subunits   
  
**Kanan** : about that   
  
**Kanan** : the only reason why dia made them was for this specific reason   
  
**KurosawaDia** : KANAN YOU WERENT SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM   
**  
** **S H I N Y** : oh yeah lol   
  
**Tanuki** : Im disappointed in diasan   
  
**yousoro7** : me too   
  
**Yohane** : me too   
  
**SakuraRi** : me too   
  
**S H I N Y** : me too   
  
**Kanan** : yall hivemind or something   
  
**yousoro7** : jsksjsks   
  
**S H I N Y** : we’re secretly all mind readers   
  
**Kanan** : babe you ruined it now everyone knows   
  
**Yohane** : SH IT   
  
**ganba!ruby!** : ok guys enough messing around, there’s one more thing i need to tell you about   
  
**KurosawaDia** : I’ll take it from here, Ruby.   
  
**KurosawaDia** : After a winner has been determined, the winning team, the entire team, will be pitted against a guest star team of elementalists.   
  
**KurosawaDia** : None of them have succeeded.   
  
**kankan** : wow not even u’s?!   
  
**KurosawaDia** : It was a close battle, but they lost.   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Funnily enough, Rin-san was their last stand.   
  
**Yohane** : who   
  
**SakuraRi** : who   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Hoshizora Rin, the team’s Volti. She was the last one to go down. I say this is funny because she’s considered the weakest member of μ’s.   
  
**yousoro7** : who did they fight against?   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Unfortunately, that’s where my knowledge stops.   
  
**KurosawaDia** : Almost no one has reported about it.

* * *

09:33   
  
**yousoro7** : so, plan.   
  
**Yohane** : plan?   
  
**yousoro7** : yeah! plan to get you with rikochan and me with chikachan!   
  
**Yohane** : oh   
  
**Yohane** : about that   
  
Yohane sent a picture   
  
**Yohane** : we kinda already started going out   
  
**yousoro7** : WHAT?!   
  
**yousoro7** : TELL ME EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED I NEED TO KNOW   
  
**Yohane** : i’ll tell you later when we pick you up

* * *

Love Live and the piano recital were a few days away. Aqours were leaving that day to Tokyo to prepare. Riko would leave the day after that. She and Yoshiko were in her apartment, making final adjustments to the song before Yoshiko left.   
  
“Yocchan, it’s almost time.”   
  
Yoshiko wasn’t beside her. She was probably in the bathroom.   
  
“Yocchan?” Riko called.   
  
“Coming!”   
  
Yoshiko slid into the room wearing the most ridiculous makeup she’d seen. She looked like a clown. Her eyes were coated with red highlights, red diamonds glittered on her cheeks, and her entire face was paper white. She wore violet lipstick.   
  
“Uh, what is that?” Riko asked.   
  
“This is my first time going to Tokyo, and Yohane the fallen angel will need to make the greatest impressions on the mere streetfolk! They’ll be simply mesmerized by my black magic! With this, I am guaranteed to add more little demons to my arsenal!”   
  
Riko looked at her girlfriend with doubt.   
  
“I can’t kiss you with all that makeup on, Yocchan.”   
  
Yoshiko’s expression wavered. It took her two seconds to run to the bathroom. She came out five minutes later with a clean face.   
  
“You were saying?” she panted.   
  
“You almost tripped trying to get in here, didn’t you?”   
  
“N-no!”   
  
Riko walked up to her and gave Yoshiko a short kiss. “There. All better now.”   
  
Yoshiko felt like she could fly. The girl of her dreams was going out with her. It may have been a bit of an awkward relationship, but it worked out. In the two weeks they dated, both of them noticed something.   
  
They were both incredibly clingy.   
  
“Yocchan, let go.”   
  
“Whuh?”   
  
“You’re still hugging me.”   
  
It was an unconscious act. The doorbell rang.   
  
“I’ll go get it,” Riko said.   
  
She left the room, leaving a trail of golden sparkles behind her. For the past week, a gold trail had followed Riko. According to her mother, this effect was caused by incredible happiness. Since Yoshiko figured this out, it almost felt like Lily’s happiness was rubbing off on her. She couldn’t stop smiling.   
  
_ God, she’s so... PERFECT. Like holy hell, why is such a girl like that allowed to exist? Beautiful in every way, amazingly capable in battle, and my God that voice. That... silky smooth buttery voice it’s so good aaaAAAAAAAAAAA- _ _   
_   
“Yocchan! It’s your mom!” Riko called.   
  
Yoshiko grabbed her duffel bag and strolled to the door, still swooning over Riko. Her mother was going to drive her to the train station. They were going to pick up You as well, since she lived on the way there.   
  
“I’m sorry, she can be quite a handful at times, isn’t she?” her mom said.   
  
“Oh, it’s no big deal, really. Yocchan’s pretty much the only person this silly that I can deal with.”   
  
Her mom nearly fell over from laughter. “Well, I hope she doesn’t cause you too much trouble. Take care of her for us, alright?”   
  
“No problem, miss.”   
  
“So I’m a handful, huh?” Yoshiko scoffed.   
  
Her mom hugged her tightly. “Yes you are, my little angel!”   
  
“Mom! Don’t embarrass me in front of my girlfriend!”   
  
Riko chuckled. “Yocchan, you’re my little angel too, you know.”   
  
She was blushing now. “Stop it!”

* * *

“Really, Mom?! Right in front of Lily of all people?!” Yoshiko folded her arms and looked out the car window, waiting for the street to turn at.   
  
“Sorry, Yoshiko, it’s an old habit! I’m just so happy that my daughter finally found someone for herself!”   
  
“You make it sound like it’s an achievement to you- ah, turn here.”   
  
As she rounded the corner, Yoshiko’s mother changed topics. “So, how’s that elementalist group treating you?”   
  
Her daughter instantly perked up. “Oh, it’s fun. It’s a great hobby.”   
  
“Glad to see you’re enjoying it.”   
  
“Here, by the way.”   
  
The car stopped in front of You’s house.   
  
“Just a sec,” Yoshiko said, stepping out of the car. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.   
  
What she expected was You to answer the door. What she didn’t expect was a scream and then a racket coming from behind it. You opened the door, her cap tilted to the side and her clothes a wrinkled mess. She saluted.   
  
“What was that?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
You picked up her luggage. “I fell down the stairs trying to open the door. Damn these socks.”   
  
“You’re almost as bad as I am,” Yoshiko straightened out You’s cap.   
  
“Gee, thanks.”

* * *

“You all have fun, okay?”   
  
Yoshiko lifted her bag out of the car. “Sure thing, Mom.”   
  
“Make sure not to cause too much trouble for the rest of them, okay, Yohane?”   
  
“Yes, Mom.”   
  
“Love you!”   
  
“Love you too.”   
  
After You took her luggage out of the car, Yoshiko’s mother drove away. “Your mom calls you Yohane?”   
  
“She calls me that whenever she knows I’m going to do something dumb.”   
  
A smug grin crept on You’s face. “So she’s mocking you.”   
  
“Shut it.”   
  
The two of them were early. None of the other girls had arrived at the train station yet.   
  
“So, what happened?” You sang.   
  
“Huh?”   
  
“You and Riko-chan!”   
  
“Oh. Yeah, so you know how Riko can’t come to Love Live with us?”   
  
“Mmhm. I was shocked too.”   
  
The day after Riko’s confession and after a lot of confused texts, Riko announced to the rest of the group that she had to attend the piano recital instead of Love Live. Dia was very much against it at first, but after some lifesaving explanations courtesy of Yoshiko, she understood.   
  
Neither Yoshiko nor Riko mentioned that they were dating. Or the transformation bit. Their excuse was that they biked home, which gained the approval of Kanan.   
  
“Yeah, I never said how that came to be,” Yoshiko said.   
  
She explained to You what had happened. When she got to the part about landing on Riko’s balcony, You freaked out.   
  
“What the hell?! You could’ve caused hell for... literally everyone! What do you mean by ‘you did nothing?!’”   
  
“The idiot part of my brain thinks it has to do with love or some bullshit like that. The smart part of my brain is telling me that it’s related to guardian angel instincts, which I still think is a load of crap.”   
  
“You make it sound so cheesy.”   
  
“I know, but let me continue.”   
  
Yoshiko included the kiss part as well.   
  
“So you’re telling me that she stole your first kiss? Bummer, I was gonna do that to you.”   
  
“Wait, what?”   
  
You suddenly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer. You pressed her lips against Yoshiko’s for two seconds before she realized what was going on. Yoshiko pushed her away a little harder than she wanted to.   
  
“You, what the-?!”   
  
“Did you eat chocolate earlier? I can still taste it.”   
  
“You, seriously, what the hell was that?!”   
  
“I love screwing with people. It’s fun!”   
  
Yoshiko’s face was bright red. She felt like Ruby. “You, really. What. The hell. Was that?!”   
  
“I’m like, super gay, dude. I like wondering what girls’ lips taste like. I also enjoy stealing first kisses, even though I’ve done it one other time...” Her voice trailed away.   
  
“Wait, you’ve done this to someone else?!”   
  
“Chika-chan.”   
  
They stared at each other. You sighed.   
  
“We were five and-.”   
  
“And you were curious what it felt like, didn’t you,” Yoshiko guessed.   
  
“Ding ding. Neither of us knew any better.”   
  
In the distance, Hanamaru and Ruby were running over. Ruby had a lollipop in her mouth and her staff was strapped to her back. Hanamaru’s tome was nowhere to be seen, but she was carrying a bookbag.   
  
“Is this a threat to me and Lily, or?” Yoshiko muttered under her breath.   
  
“Nah, I just wanted to mess with you. I’m not that much of a dick to try and screw over your love life,” You muttered back.   
  
“You jerk, you,” Yoshiko elbowed her gently.   
  
“Good morning!” Ruby chirped. “You two are here early!”   
  
“Of course we would be; we live the closest to the station,” You said. “You two ready for Love Live?”   
  
Ruby pumped her arms. “Heck yeah, I am! I’ll give it my Rubesty!”   
  
Hanamaru chuckled. “I wonder how many other people will be there, zura.”   
  
As soon as she said “zura,” she immediately turned to Ruby. “Oh, Ruby-chan. If my accent starts to slip when we’re in Tokyo, could you stop me, please?”   
  
“Okay, Hanamaru-chan!”   
  
Under her breath, You muttered, “God, they’re so precious...”   
  
Dia, Mari and Kanan all arrived soon after. Mari carried a case for her rifle. It was covered in yellow and purple glitter.   
  
“Why the glitter,” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“What? You don’t like having your Relics in a fancy case?”   
  
Kanan nudged her. “Don’t worry about Mari. She’s always been like this.”   
  
As usual, Chika was the last one to arrive, coming out of a pickup truck driven by one of her sisters.   
  
“Hey, guys! You all ready?!” Chika shouted.   
  
“More ready than you ever will be!” You shouted back.

* * *

Sometime during the train ride, Ruby showed Yoshiko her phone. “Yohane-chan, check this out!”   
  
On her phone was some kind of promo video. In front of a pink background was the letters “μ’s.” A second later the background and the letters turned green and vines started to grow on the screen. In a second, the vines grew thorns and tore apart the background. In its place stood a schoolgirl wearing glasses and a white flower crown. The girl spoke for a few seconds before she extended out her right arm.   
  
Vines and flowers began to grow around her arm. Once it all reached her hand, it formed into a staff. In her hand carried a thick rod made of vines and thorns. Flowers of different varieties bloomed at the end of the staff.   
  
The girl spoke some more before she spun around and pointed her Relic at the camera. The name “Koizumi Hanayo” appeared and the video faded to white.   
  
“That’s Hanayo?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
Ruby perked up. “You’ve heard of her?”   
  
“Chika told me about her a while ago. She’s the Florae of their group, right?”   
  
“Yeah, she’s my favorite member!”   
  
“She’s cool, right?!” Chika suddenly butt in.   
  
“I want to be just like her!” Ruby smiled. “Who’s your favorite, Chika-chan?”   
  
“Honoka-san, no questions asked. She’s brilliant! Magic has always been something I’ve loved, and she just makes it ten times better!”   
  
The two of them continued to fangirl about μ’s for ten minutes straight. Dia looked like she was trying very hard not to speak up.   
  
“Who’s your favorite, Yohane-chan?” Ruby asked.   
  
“Well, if I was forced to pick, it’d probably be the purple one. I don’t really know their names too well.”   
  
Both Ruby and Chika freaked out. “Nozomi-san?!” they both shouted.   
  
“Y-yeah, Nozomi...”   
  
“Nozomi-san is super cool!” Ruby said.   
  
Dia decided to finally cave in. “Tojo Nozomi? I expected as much.”   
  
“Wait, what’s so predictable about that?” Yoshiko asked.   
  
“Tojo Nozomi is their Mentis. She’s very unique in that she uses tarot cards as her weapon.”   
  
You finally looked up from her video games. “Huh? How does that work?”   
  
“Her set of tarot cards are enchanted to form any weapon required for the situation. Nozomi-san herself has confirmed in interviews that a majority of μ’s has learned a lot from her weapon mastery.”   
  
Dia looked right at Yoshiko. “I suspected she would be your favorite, considering your obsession with Relics.”   
  
“For the last time, it’s not an obsession! I just enjoy looking at them!”   
  
Five minutes later, Yoshiko asked, “How many weapons does she have, anyway?”   
  
“Ten.”   
  
“Wow. Okay, wow. That’s... How did she keep up with that?!”   
  
“That’s something I wonder from time to time.”

* * *

13:42   
  
**SakuraRi** : you okay?   
  
**Yohane** : yes lily im ok   
  
**SakuraRi** : just checking up on my yocchan, carry on   
  
**Yohane** : you make it sound like im your pet   
  
**SakuraRi** : is that a bad thing?   
  
**Yohane** : please keep calling me yocchan thx   
  
**SakuraRi** : ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪   
  
**Yohane** : ( ´ ▽ ` ) ****

* * *

Tokyo was amazing. For the first few days, everyone spent the day touring. Somehow in that time You found a uniform shop and bought several outfits.   
  
“Don’t ask,” she replied when Yoshiko asked.   
  
Dia and Ruby also went to go find Otonokizaka High School, apparently the high school where μ’s went to. They were very pleased to see in person. However, they came back to the inn with less-than-happy faces.   
  
“There was a student walking around the city,” Ruby said. “She told us that if we were going to the school to see μ’s stuff, it’s all gone.”   
  
“What?!” Chika exclaimed.   
  
“Yes, it’s true,” Dia explained. “According to the student, they cleared out their clubroom when all of them graduated.”   
  
“Why?!”   
  
“No one knows. Possibly they wanted for their school to just be a school and not a sacred ground where μ’s stepped foot in.”   
  
Mari and Kanan both snickered. “That didn’t stop you and Ruby-chan, now, did it?” Mari taunted.   
  
“Shut up.”

* * *

11:01   
  
**Yohane** : gnight lily   
  
**SakuraRi** : night yocchan!

* * *

The next day, something amazing happened.

  
It was the last day before the first day of Love Live. The girls went to the nearby shrine to pay respects to the gods and pray for their safety and well-being tomorrow. But not before meeting them.   
  
As soon as they arrived, they all felt a chill. “It’s the middle of August, why is it so damn cold?!” You complained.   
  
There were two girls in front of them standing ten feet away from each other. They both wore darkly-colored school uniforms that looked like they were designed for the cold. One girl was taller and had a side tail and dark purple hair, while the other girl was a little bit shorter and had twintails and slightly lighter purple hair. The taller girl had two sheathed swords hanging at each side of her waist.   
  
“Ready, Leah?” the taller girl asked.   
  
“I told you, I’m always ready!” the shorter girl answered.   
  
The girl named Leah held out her arms and ice formed in the space between her hands. The ice got longer and longer until it became a staff. At the top of the staff was a design similar to a snowflake, except the tip of it was extended out so that it looked like the end of a spear.   
  
The taller girl noticed the eight people watching them.   
  
“Oh, hello there. I didn’t expect us to have an audience. You all are?”   
  
Chika stepped forward. “My name is Takami Chika, and you’re looking at the members of Aqours! We’re here to win at Love Live!”   
  
“Oh, you’re here for Love Live too? Me and my sister were invited here. We decided to comply, we don’t get much competition in Hokkaido. Say hello, Leah.”   
  
Her sister did not look very pleased. “Hi.”   
  
She seemed to stare right at Ruby. Dia stepped in front of her.   
  
“You said you were from Hokkaido?” Dia asked cautiously.   
  
“Yeah. Forgive my manners by the way, my name is Kazuno Sarah.” She bowed. Leah remained still.   
  
“Your sister’s a Glaci?” Ruby observed. “What are you, then?”   
  
Sarah unsheathed the two swords at her sides. Once they came out of their sheaths, a harsh ice-blue light came from them. The swords had blades of ice.   
  
“I’m also one. I dual-wield.”   
  
“Sis, come ON!” Leah complained. “Quit showing off and let me do this!”   
  
Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes. “Handful one.”   
  
She charged at her little sister and stopped until they were about a foot apart. Once she stopped, she swung both of her swords up, creating a pillar of ice underneath Leah and sending her up into the air. Leah soared up into the evening sky and began corkscrewing towards the earth. As she fell, she shouted and shards of ice flew everywhere. One hit Ruby and she shrieked.   
  
Leah landed perfectly. “Nice job,” her sister complimented. “We’re on track.”   
  
She turned and noticed Ruby’s wound. “Oh. Uh, sorry about that.”   
  
Hanamaru’s tome was already open and she was gripping the spot where Ruby was struck. In little time, it healed.   
  
“W-wow...” You managed to say.   
  
“I’m scared,” Kanan said.   
  
Mari collapsed onto her. “ _ Baby, hold me. I feel faint _ ,” she muttered in English.   
  
“We are Saint Snow,” Leah declared. “and you’d do well to remember that.”   
  
Sarah chuckled. “Well, we’d love to stay and chat, but we need to prepare more for tomorrow. Good luck, Aqours!”   
  
She began walking away. Leah stared death into the audience watching.   
  
“Leah,” her sister called.   
  
She began to catch up, but she said something before she left.   
  
“You’ll need it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WATANABE YOU IS SUPER G A Y
> 
> oh hey saint snow ice magic who wouldve guessed


	18. Is Your Heart Shining?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I'm not dead, I swear.
> 
> There's just been a very LONG hiatus. I blame school.  
> But yeah, enjoy!

Aqours’ preliminary matches were starting in thirty minutes and everyone was nervous. Dia, Ruby, and Chika were all fidgeting, which deeply concerned You, considering she made costumes for this occasion.

Everyone was wearing similar dresses with blues and pinks, but had different colors based on grade level. Chika and You’s dresses were mostly blue, the first years had mostly white dresses, and the third years’ dresses were mostly purple. They seemed to depict the sky.

“Are you sure we should be wearing this and not embarrassing ourselves?” Kanan asked a few days prior.

“Hey, I gotta put those sewing skills to work, somehow.” You shrugged. “Love Live always had contestants wearing uniforms of their own, so I don’t see why not.”

Although, being measured by You was, in Yoshiko’s opinion, not the best experience.

“Stop groping my body, holy shit, you’re just as bad as Mari.”

You stopped with a sly grin on her face. “Mari does that to you?”

Yoshiko sealed her lips after that.

There was one aspect about Love Live that slipped past Dia and Ruby’s omnipotence. Apparently, there were so many teams this year, Love Live had to hold preliminaries. Because of this, the actual first rounds of the tournament would take place a few weeks later.

The preliminaries consisted of participating teams fighting for a place in the tournament bracket, which was a thirty two team single elimination bracket. In order to win, teams had to win two out of three matches. Switching out members inbetween matches was allowed. But for preliminaries, it was only one match, so if you won, you were in. So in a way, it was just adding another round to the tournament. In this stage, no one knew who they were going up against, so the only thing Aqours could plan for was anything. Teams that were put in the field are premade before the match without the other group knowing.

If they faced any fliers, Dia and Mari would be stepping in. If there were close range fighters, Yoshiko, Hanamaru, Ruby, and Kanan would be ideal. Chika and You were considered the ones in case they needed a middle ground.

Dia had done a lot of research on previous Love Lives, specifically on μ’s and who they went up against. μ’s, a group of nine girls with many differing styles of fighting, participated in and won the first Love Live. This gave them a huge advantage because of their versatility. Aqours had a similar team structure as them, but not exact. Aqours focused more on ranged combat while a large majority of μ’s focused on physical combat. There was a little bit more variation within μ’s elements too, as they all had different attributes while Kanan and You were both Hydros. μ’s also had a member who could fly, Minami Kotori, without breaking the rules. Love Live had banned transformations from the very beginning, their explanation being that it gave teams too much of an advantage. And in Aqours’ case, they would definitely be right.

A man walked into the room that Aqours was waiting in. “Aqours? You’re up.”

The girls walked quietly through the arena’s hallways. They could hear the crowd above them. The announcer was explaining the rules of the tournament. Once they arrived at the entrance to the field, there was a room to the left. It was the room for members that weren’t fighting in the current round. Kanan, Mari, Hanamaru, and You stepped inside. A screen display hung on one of the walls.

“Good luck!” You cheered.

When the other for walked outside, the crowd cheered. Ruby stiffened. She wasn’t used to this many people watching her.

“S-sis?” she whined.

“It’s okay, Ruby. I’m here for you.”

The other team seemed to have gotten here before them. They were a group of four girls, two Florae and two Hydros. They wore green costumes. The two Florae had a single leaf in their hair. None of which showed any signs of a weapon, which meant they either knew magic or had a weapon that could be summoned.

The announcer introduced them as “Green Tea Leaves,” a group of five girls from Tokyo comprised of three Hydros and two Florae. They spent weekends looking for monsters or crime to hunt down.

Yoshiko felt a strange sensation as she walked closer to the center. It was as if her insides liquefied for a second.

“Did any of you guys feel that?” Yoshiko asked, shuddering.

“That was the forcefield keeping us in.” Dia said. “Remember that we fight to kill.”

Ruby gulped. “This doesn’t feel right...”

Yoshiko patted her shoulder. “Think of it like a game. You’ll do great.”

The red-haired girl sighed. “Hopefully it’ll be that easy.”

The crowd quieted. “Everyone ready?” the announcer boomed.

Two of the girls in Green Tea Leaves grabbed the leaves in their hair. In no time at all, they became green broadswords. The other two Hydros lifted their hands, revealing that they were hydrokenetics.

“This shouldn’t be too hard,” Chika mumbled.

Dia unholstered her pistols. Chika drew her sword. Yoshiko’s hand blazed with black fire. Ruby gripped her staff.

The announcer cleared her throat. “Go!”

Dia fired off two shots as soon as the buzzer went off. One bullet whizzed past its target, but the other hit the target in the knee, stumbling her. Chika and Yoshiko rushed forward. As the stunned opponent was getting up, their team members ran head. The two swordfighters tried to focus on Yoshiko, attempting to block her path.

Dia and Ruby provided covering fire from behind. The two Hydros from the other team were doing the same, but they were closer to the battle. They were considered to be close-range mages, people whose magic didn’t reach as far as others. With each swing of her staff, Ruby casted ribbons of fire into the fray.

“Ruby, get in closer,” Dia commanded. “I’ll be fine here.”

Ruby nodded and met up with her other two teammates. Chika was facing head-to-head with one of the Florae. Chika had the shorter sword, but it was a lot lighter. The attacks from the Florae had a lot of anticipation, making dodging a little too easy.

Thing were going pretty well for Yoshiko. Shooting blast after blast of black energy was making the two Hydros distracted. It was now when Yoshiko realized their strategy, which wasn’t very good. Apparently they had all been ganging up on Chika, which seemed like a good idea in theory, but not against a team where most of their members have considerable range. Chika’s swordsmanship was also really good, since she was fending off against the two Florae at the same time.

Dia had gotten up close and personal. Apparently she wasn’t only skilled in sharpshooting, she was also decently strong. The only reason why Yoshiko and Chika knew this was because of AZALEA’s mission a few weeks ago. Dia, despite being a gunslinger, fought the two mages almost single-handedly.

“Is she showing off?” Chika mumbled.

Ruby had gotten in a tough spot. She wasn’t as physical as her sister, and Green Tea Leaves had changed their target to Ruby. When the nearest Florae approached her, Ruby hit the ground with her staff out of panic. Fire magic suddenly erupted out of the ground where she stood, searing her attacker. Dia ran towards her and straight up punched her in the face. This much amount of damage caused her to disappear, and reappear outside the barrier.

“The first contestant out is a part of Green Tea Leaves!” the announcer said. “Aqours has the advantage!”

Dia kneeled down to her sister. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks.”

As soon as she got up, one of the Hydros rushed up to her, hand raised and ready to strike. When she got close enough, Yoshiko put herself between the two of them and raised a barrier, blocking the damage. The Hydros was knocked back from the recoil, and Yoshiko sprung up in the air. With a flick of her wrist, black arrows flew out of Yoshiko’s palm. The Hydros wasn’t ready for it, and caught the attack’s full force. This amount of damage was enough to get her out of the match.

“Two more!” Dia shouted.

The remaining Hydros and Florae attempted to stay together, but against a full team, they didn’t stand much of a chance. Dia and Yoshiko pretty much led the action for the rest of the match.

In a very quick motion, Dia swung her gun in an arc, firing while moving. The gunfire hit the two targets, stumbling them. Ruby then leaped into the air and shot a large fireball.

Once it made contact, it exploded, catching the two opponents.

And Chika.

The three of them were teleported out of the barrier.

“Sorry!” Ruby squealed.

* * *

 

Riko, somehow, had managed to come out of the piano competition with first place. And a pretty trophy!

“Well, how about that?” her mother sighed. “Bet you didn’t expect this, eh?”

Riko was just as surprised as her mother was. Although, there was only a slight issue.

She’d bought more doujins than she realized.

* * *

 

Aqours did it! They had reached placement into their first Love Live! Their first real match would take place in two weeks.

Chika and Ruby were ecstatic. The two of them wouldn’t shut up on the way back home.

But, since they were in the real tournament now, they had to step up their game.

That didn’t stop Ruby from getting sidetracked once she got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if there's any disappointment about how short the chapter is, I couldn't really find a way to make it longer without making it seem like it's dragging on. As compensation, I have the next chapter ready to go, I might post it earlier if I feel like I'm on track.
> 
> If there's any confusion, yes, they're wearing their KimiKoko outfits.
> 
> In other news, I went full crazy and drew the second years here!  
> https://instagram.com/p/Blrssi7h1yZ/


	19. Aqours HEROES

Nobody expected this. Dia didn’t expect this. Yoshiko didn’t. Chika didn’t know what was going on either.

But then there was Ruby.

Summer vacation ended and it was back to school for everyone. Everything proceeded as usual, until school ended. Students packed their bags and left classes, going home or to clubs. Yoshiko stepped into the clubroom along with everyone else. Except...

“Hey, has anyone seen Ruby?” You asked.

The members looked at each other in confusion.

“Any idea, Hanamaru-chan?”

Hanamaru, uncharacteristically glum, shook her head. “Haven’t got a clue, zura.”

Kanan seemed to notice. “Maru, what’s the problem?”

Hanamaru looked away. Yoshiko thought that she saw eyes filled with dread and fear.

“Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about me!”

She flashed a fake smile. Everything definitely wasn’t fine.

“I’m going to look for her,” Yoshiko said. “Start the meeting without me and Ruby.”

Yoshiko searched up and down the school. Ruby wasn’t in any classrooms, nor the gym, or the student council office. After nearly giving up, she found Ruby sitting outside the school gates. She was gripping a piece of paper tightly.

“Ruby..?”

Ruby looked up fiercely. Her hair glowed bright pink. Pink tears were flowing down her cheeks. Bits and parts of her skin were alight with fire. “Oh... hi, Yohane-chan.”

“Ruby, what happened?! The group meeting started.”

Ruby hiccuped. “I don’t care about the meeting right now.”

“What? Why?”

The paper in Ruby’s hand was beginning to burn. She chucked it at the ground in anger. “You wanna know why?!” she shrieked in a sudden outburst. “That’s why!”

Ruby ran away in the opposite direction. Home, supposedly. Yoshiko picked up the paper, which was incredibly warm.

_Hey, Hanamaru-chan._

_Meet me in front of the school gate, okay?_

_Ruby ❤️_

Her handwriting was good, but that wasn’t the main focus. Yoshiko froze. This couldn’t mean very well.

She ran back to the clubroom as fast as she could.

“Yoshiko-san? What happened to my sister?” Dia asked when she saw the panic on Yoshiko’s face.

Hanamaru glared. It seemed that she had a bad enough day already.

“Y-you see, uh,” Yoshiko stammered. If she said the wrong thing, Hanamaru would probably kill her.

“Ruby’s not feeling too well, so she said she’d go home early when I found her,” Yoshiko said.

_please buy it please buy it please buy it_

“Well, that’s reasonable,” Dia mused. “I’ll be sure to tell her what she missed.”

The meeting went by in a blur. Yoshiko was too focused on what happened with Hanamaru and Ruby to catch what was going on.

She heard Hanamaru’s voice in the middle of the meeting.

Meet me outside after this. Don’t talk. I figured out telepathy.

Yoshiko would’ve been impressed if this were any other situation. Once the meeting was over, everyone was preparing to leave.

“Ah, I left my notebooks upstairs,” Yoshiko mumbled. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“See ya, Yoshiko-chan!” Chika waved.

“Yohane!”

Hanamaru was standing behind her. “Now what did you want to talk to me about?” Yoshiko asked.

“Don’t play dumb, zura. I know you found her,” Hanamaru growled.

Being scary was definitely not something Yoshiko assumed that Zuramaru would be, but she was wrong. Hanamaru looked like she was staring death into her eyes.

“Well, she showed me the note she gave you, and-.”

Hanamaru exhaled. “She was crying, wasn’t she?”

Yoshiko nodded.

“I knew this would happen. I knew this would happen...” The scary facade suddenly faded. Hanamaru sunk to the ground.

She started taking heavy breaths. Yoshiko heard whimpers. “I shouldn’t’ve rejected her, zura...”

“What happened, exactly?”

“W-well, I found the note i-in my shoe locker after school, and then I did what I was told, zura. When I found her, she...”

She was trembling, as if she knew what consequences fate had in store for her. “She confessed to me... I... I told her that I couldn’t feel the same way...”

Yoshiko felt the heaviness of her voice. “I honestly, honestly, don’t feel the same, and I regret it a lot, zura. Why me? Why not someone else?!”

The words hung in the air as Hanamaru cried.

* * *

16:10

**KurosawaDia** : Ruby isn’t talking to me.

 **Kanan** : huh?

 **Kanan** : why not?

 **KurosawaDia** : I don’t know. She locked herself in her room. I thought I heard crying earlier. Mother and Father definitely saw her coming home earlier than usual.

 **SakuraRi** : This can’t be good.

 **yousoro7** : maybe she needs a visit from one of her friends?

Tanuki has left the group chat.

 **Kanan** : um...

 **Yohane** : don’t worry about that. zuramarus going through a lot right now

 **kankan** : oh okay

 **kankan** : family stuff, maybe

Sometimes, You wanted to punch Chika in the face for being a little too dense.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. At least, that’s what You thought. She specifically remembered that Ruby had a massive crush on Hanamaru.

19:33

**yousoro7** : hanamaru-chan?

 **yousoro7** : hello?

 **Tanuki** : What do you want

 **yousoro7** : is this about ruby-chan?

 **Tanuki** : Take a wild guess

 **yousoro7** : well, that’s a yes, then.

 **Tanuki** : Please just leave me alone I don’t need a chewing out

 **yousoro7** : who said anything about me chewing you out?

 **yousoro7** : i just wanted to know what happened, that’s all.

 **Tanuki** : Go ask yoshikochan I already told her

 **yousoro7** : okay...

 **yousoro7** : gnight?

 **Tanuki** : Good night

* * *

19:50

**yousoro7** : what happened with ruby-chan and hanamaru-chan?

 **Yohane** : longstoryshort ruby got friendzoned

 **yousoro7** : oh.

 **yousoro7** : it was as bad as i thought

 **Yohane** : yeah. shoe locker note and everything.

 **yousoro7** : okay it was worse than i thought

 **yousoro7** : but what are we supposed to do though?

 **Yohane** : wait it out? idk

 **yousoro7** : but love live is in a few days, i’m pretty sure waiting it out isnt an option.

 **Yohane** : ill try calling her

* * *

 

No response. Ruby wasn’t saying anything. Hopefully the sirens going off in Yoshiko’s head were false alarms. Ruby didn’t show up the next day. The alarms were blaring.

“Uh, Dia?” Yoshiko said that day after school.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Can I go to your house and check up on Ruby? I’m really worried for her.”

Dia took a little bit to think of an answer while sorting papers. “Sure, you can come along. Just make sure you don’t set her off.”

She glared at Yoshiko. “I swear, if I find out ANYTHING happens...”

“I won’t try anything,” Yoshiko said in a blind panic.”

“Good.”

* * *

 Yoshiko had never seen Dia and Ruby’s place. She didn’t expect it to be a traditional old house.

“This is Ruby’s room,” Dia announced. “She locked the door, so neither of us can get in, but maybe she’ll open the door for you. Who knows.”

She walked down the hall. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my room.”

Yoshiko knocked on the door, hoping for a response. “Hello? Ruby? It’s me, Yoshiko.”

There was a tray of cold food on the floor. Had she really not eaten since yesterday?

“Ruby! Hello?!”

Luckily, Yoshiko half expected this. She went outside and peered through the window of Ruby’s room.

What she saw was incredible.

Yoshiko nearly broke down Dia’s door. When she answered, she didn’t seem too happy.

“You better have a really good reason for banging like that.”

“You need to see this.”

When Dia looked inside, she looked rather interested.

“Oh. Oh my.”

Ruby wasn’t in her room. In her place, or rather, what was on her bed, was a huge glowing sakura bud. Her silhouette could be seen inside, floating in a fetal position. The both of them could feel the heat on the window.

“Well, what now?!” Yoshiko panicked.

“First off.” Dia turned around. “This isn’t too big of a deal.”

“Eh?”

“You know how Ruby and I are related to royal blood?”

Yoshiko slowly nodded. It was hard to forget, especially because Ruby’s magical abilities was a living reminder of that.

“One of our ancestors was an empress with a particuarily sour love life. She kept trying to get with men and even women at times to sate her lust. Once, when she thought she found the perfect soulmate, she was turned down. The empress was so struck with grief, she concealed herself in her quarters. A day later, her servants found out that she had become enveloped in a flower.”

The empress from the story probably sounded like a strong woman, able to put herself back together, but Ruby was Ruby. She could cry at the tip of a hat. “What happened after that?”

“The flower soon bloomed. Inside was the same empress, acting as if nothing ever happened. Although, rumors were told that her combat abilities were improved.”

It sounded like either a fairytale or a rebirth to Yoshiko.

“But this does mean one thing,” Dia growled.

_Uh oh._

“Someone’s done something to Ruby.”

Yoshiko sighed. She figured this was coming.

“What did you do?” Dia asked.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Explain.”

Dia had put her in a corner quicker than any monster had.

“Don’t yell at her for this, please. I think she’s had it as much as Ruby has.”

“Who?”

Yoshiko was hesitant to speak. “Zuramaru.”

She explained what she could. The note, the confession that she wasn’t there for, the conversation with Hanamaru.

Dia seemed to get sadder with each passing minute. “I... I see. I thought it was a lot worse than heartbreak. When I saw the bud, I had my suspicions, but I didn’t actually think it.”

She sat in thought for a few moments. “I’ll talk to Hanamaru-san tonight, see what I can find out.”

* * *

20:11

**KurosawaDia** : Hanamaru-san?

 **Tanuki** : What now

 **KurosawaDia** : I’m not angry, I’m just curious as to why you turned down Ruby’s request.

 **Tanuki** : Yoshikochan told you

 **KurosawaDia** : She explained, yes.

 **KurosawaDia** : Hanamaru-san, I’m not going to get anrgy at you. If you need anyone, you can talk to me and Kanan-san. The rest of Aqours is here for you, you know.

 **Tanuki** : Fine

 **Tanuki** : I dont understand

 **Tanuki** : Why me

 **Tanuki** : Rubychan deserves so much better than just me

 **Tanuki** : What does she see in me? A huge mess?

 **Tanuki** : I dont understand why she loves me

 **Tanuki** : Im useless

 **Tanuki** : All of you guys can outrun me, Im so unfit compared to everyone, I cant fight as well as you, I try as hard as I can and nothing happens. Im not even that interesting, Im always reading and I never talk

 **Tanuki** : What the hell

 **Tanuki** : Why me?

 **Tanuki** : Im okay with staying friends why did she have to confess

 **KurosawaDia** : Hanamaru-san, calm down.

 **KurosawaDia** : Self-deprication won’t get you anywhere. For starters, forget about all of that combat nonsense. We don’t care about that. And second, we enjoy your company. You being with us alone is making us happy.

 **Tanuki** : Really

 **KurosawaDia** : Yes, it is.

 **Tanuki** : Even then Im scared to talk to rubychan again

 **Tanuki** : What if she hates me

 **KurosawaDia** : She won’t hate you for being honest.

 **KurosawaDia** : Apologize the next time you see her.

 **Tanuki** : Okay

 **Tanuki** : Goodnight diasan

 **KurosawaDia** : Good night.

* * *

 

The next day, Hanamaru went to the Kurosawa household. When she asked to see Ruby, Dia had told her the circumstances.

“You see,” she grumbled, looking towards the door. “Ruby locked herself in her room, and of course, I’m not allowed to shoot down any doors in the household.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Hanamaru said. She pulled out her tome and opened to a page. When she found the spell she was looking for, she held her hand up to the doorknob and muttered an encantation.

Once she was done, Hanamaru twisted the doorknob and it opened.

“You can lockpick doors?” Dia asked.

“Not exactly. The spell is supposed to be used to rearrange items in proper order, and out of curiosity, I figured out it works on door locks.”

“Interesting.”

Hanamaru walked up the stairs expecting to find Ruby, but instead found the giant sakura bud Ruby was in. She stopped in her tracks.

“Oh... Maru might’ve done a bad thing...”

“What’s the matter?” Dia asked.

“I read about this in a book, its been said that when young Pyrros get their hearts broken, the more powerful ones envelop themselves in a flower. This is a very rare case, but it still... I... I made her that upset?”

Dia averted her eyes.

“Oh, Ruby-chan, I’m so sorry...”

Hanamaru knelt there, silently weeping. A minute later, the sakura bud began glowing brighter. The light became almost blinding until the flower started blooming. The room’s temperature was rising. When the sakura finally opened, the room was showered in a bright pink light, and there was Ruby, standing on her bed.

Ruby was wearing a loose blue dress that stopped at her knees. The skirt sparkled. Two blue bows were placed in her hair. Her eyes were red, but they were unlike Yoshiko’s red eyes. Ruby’s eyes were warmer and had a motherly look in them. She held a large red paper parasol. Her hair was glowing a brilliant pink color. Pink tears flowed from her eyes.

These sights that make us now won’t ever ever fade.

“R-Ruby-chan?” Hanamaru gasped.

“Maru-chan...”

The both of them had sad looks on their faces. Dia walked out of the room and gently closed the door.

“Hanamaru-chan, I-“

“I’m so sorry, zura!” Hanamaru cried out. “I never should’ve turned you down!”

“No, it’s alright, Maru-chan. It’s not your fault. If you don’t feel the same way, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have acted so quickly, haha...”

Hanamaru ran up to her and hugged Ruby tightly. “Please don’t be angry...”

“Why would I be angry? I can’t get angry at you, Maru-chan. You’re Maru-chan!”

“B-but, I was so mean to you! And-“

“You weren’t mean at all! You were being honest! I can’t be mad at you being honest!”

Hanamaru hugged her harder. “I’m... so sorry, Ruby-chan.”

“It’s okay, Maru-chan. Also, please let go of me, I can’t breathe...”

Despite her cute, soft appearance, Hanamaru could give a pretty powerful hug.

“Can you at least ask one thing though?” Ruby asked.

“What is it?”

“Could I at least keep my feelings for a little longer?”

Hanamaru wiped away her tears, and the ones that were on Ruby’s cheeks. “Of course.”

She was so close. Ruby wanted to resist the urge to lean in and kiss her.

“Ruby-chan, what are you doing, zura?”

Hanamaru caught her. “Oh! Um, ahhh...”

She finally smiled. “How long have you been waiting, Ruby-chan?”

“Waiting for what?”

Hanamaru suddenly grabbed Ruby’s cheeks and kissed her full on the mouth. When she pulled away, she giggled and said, “That.”

Ruby sat there, frozen. She held still for so long that she eventually returned back to her usual form, wearing her school unform. Her eyes were wide and her hair was still glowing bright pink. It took her a few minutes, but when she realized what happened she shook her head and covered her face.

“Uuuu, don’t do that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Thanks to SIF, I can figure out what everyone’s bedrooms looks like!
> 
> Ruby lives in the attic.  
> http://kachagain.com/llsif/bg/84.png


End file.
